The One With The Flatmate
by Elliac77
Summary: Post eighth year, Draco Malfoy is a trainee on the student healer course run by St Mungo's. He is navigating his way through student life, relationships and wizarding society's persistent judgement, whilst trying to escape his dark past. Plot bunny inspired by an episode of FRIENDS! EWE Dramione Fluff.
1. Chapter 1

**~one~**

The newly opened _'Warlocks_' pub was alive with chatter and music as it gradually filled up with witches and wizards enjoying a Friday evening night out in Diagon Alley. It was a modern and lively venue, in stark contrast to the usual, more traditional hostelries to be found locally, and had already attracted a young and vibrant clientele in the few weeks it had been in business.

Draco Malfoy was sitting in a cosily lit corner with two of his friends, relaxing after a strenuous day at his healer training placement. He had been having a particularly rough time of it lately. His healer mentor had taken an instant dislike to him and had yet to speak to Draco with any form of pleasantry or mutual respect. He was always giving Draco the shittiest of jobs - sometimes quite literally. This treatment was something that Draco had become quite accustomed to, given his well-documented history during the war. Nevertheless, he was determined to pursue his healer training as a means of making some small amends to wizarding society and to prove himself as so much more than the 'boy death eater' of his past.

After his long and gruelling day, Draco had immediately owled his old friends Blaise and Nott. He was keen to arrange a quick drink on his way home, rather than heading straight back to his student digs that he shared with a fellow trainee healer. St Mungo's provided on site accommodation for its trainees in order to free up their floo access for emergencies, and the site maintained its strict anti-apparition wards as a safety measure. It was far more convenient for the trainees to remain on site where they could access the labs and the hospital's immense, specialist library, which Draco did on most days - even days off and weekends.

More and more people were squeezing into the pub, and Draco received his fair share of glares and whispering glances as people quickly clocked the familiar blond haired figure in the corner. It was a fact that many people felt that he and his family had got off far too lightly in the trials that followed the second wizarding war, and their ire and bitterness was always very plain to see. Despite the Golden Trio having spoken up on his behalf during the trials, a fact that he had yet to quite get over, Draco had suffered a lot at the hands of 'have - a - go' vigilantes. He had frequently found himself black and blue from alleyway beatings on the occasions that he dared to venture out in the months after the war.

Because of this, he had been greatly relieved when he was allowed to return to Hogwarts to complete his eighth year of education. It gave him a means of escaping both the beatings and the media scrutiny that also followed him and his family around. He had of course then faced the wrath of the student population at Hogwarts, but had felt much safer and he was grateful for the haven that the castle offered him, especially considering that many, including himself, felt that he hardly deserved it.

In their secluded corner, Blaise had been bragging for the past five minutes about his most recent conquest with a young, blonde haired witch who he had met at work. Of course he had no intention of seeing her again, having got her to drop her knickers on their first date. Theo on the other hand, had just announced that he and Tracey Davis had been dating, having bumped into each other in Diagon Alley a few weeks earlier.

"Davis? From school?" Draco enquired, recalling their fellow Slytherin housemate.

"Yeah. She's a great girl," Theo replied, taking a swig of his beer. "I don't know why I didn't really notice her when we were at school."

"Probably because she was a flat chested bean-pole?" Blaise suggested with a bored expression.

"Hey! "came the offended reply. "That may be my future girlfriend, you numpty!"

Blaise gave another bored sneer and scanned the room for his next potential hook-up.

"So… what about you, Malfoy?" he drawled, not taking his eyes off the crowds. "You had any action lately?"

Draco unfortunately, had not been having any success. Girls mostly remained wary of him, and those that didn't were usually vacuous gold diggers. On occasion, Draco had taken advantage of their eagerness to secure himself a one night stand here and there, but he had foud that such encounters simply left him feeling hollow and empty.

"No," came Draco's flat response.

"It's been a while mate, hasn't it?" asked Nott with interest.

Draco took a deep breath in through his nose before reluctantly admitting that it had in fact been several months.

"_Months?_" repeated Blaise, suddenly dragging his eyes away from the rear of a scantily clad red head and staring at Draco with horror. "Months? Shit-a-brick Malfoy, I think my dick would've dropped off by now from all the wanking I'd have been doing making up for going _months_ without any!"

"Thanks for that." Draco replied, reaching for his beer with a roll of his eyes.

"Come on mate," Theo chimed in. "Let's see if we can fix you up tonight. This place is just heaving with…"

"Willing and eager pussy?" Blaise interjected.

Theo and Draco looked at their dark, Italian friend to see that he had once again zoned out and was slowly sliding out of his seat and making his way through the crowds in the direction of his prey. They both shook their heads in unison before continuing their conversation.

"Come on, Draco. What about her?" he said, gesturing with his glass towards a small, mousey looking girl with her group of friends, sipping away at her drink.

"No."

"Okay…. how about … her?" came Theo's insistent suggestion. He had pointed out a tall, dark - haired witch, who appeared to be significantly older than them, and possibly even older than his mother.

"Are you mental?" came Draco's incredulous reply.

"Okay, okay. Such a picky one aren't you? So…. what about…. _her_?"

Theo nodded towards the bar which had now become visible since a group of lads all wearing matching Quidditch shirts had left. There was a petite, elegantly dressed witch standing at the bar, waiting to be served. She had her back to them, but Draco guessed she was younger than the old hag Theo had just picked out from him from the modern style of robes she was wearing.

She wore a sheer blouse with a classic polka dot pattern, offering just a hint at a black lacy bra beneath. The smooth knee length pencil skirt that she was wearing hugged her curves perfectly, and she wore elegant black patent heels that accentuated her shapely legs. There was a hint of muggle fashion about her robes that made her stand out from the crowds of typically dressed women in the room. Her hair was cascading in soft, large brown curls down her back.

Draco swallowed thickly. She was very pleasing to the eye and he had to admit that he had felt ready to start trying to find some female company again recently.

"Well she's definitely got your attention," Theo remarked as he took in his friend's intense study of the girl at the bar.

"Go on, mate. Give it a try. You've still got your aristocratic charms to pull on haven't you?"

Draco, pursed his lips in one final gesture of consideration before whispering "Fuck it" and walking quietly over her side at the bar. The bartender was just setting down a large glass of wine in front of her.

"I'll get that, he offered, taking out his wallet.

The brunette turned to look at him with surprise. Upon meeting her wide, amber eyes, Draco nearly dropped his wallet into her drink. It was none other than Hermione Granger, one third of the Golden trio (well the most noteworthy member in Draco's opinion). The girl he had bullied incessantly in school, the girl who he had seen tortured by his rabid aunt on his parents' drawing room floor, and the girl who had spoken out in his favour during the trials, saving him from a stint in Azkaban prison.

He had not seen her since they left school at the end of their eighth year, in which they had struck up something of akin to a friendship, having been paired together in Potions for their final assessment. She certainly looked different. The skinny, pale, post- war aura that so many of the eighth year students had carried during that year at school had gone, along with the dark circles under her eyes. She looked glowing and healthy and her unmistakable bushy hair had been tamed into a vision of smooth perfection.

Blinking momentarily to take in what had happened, Draco quickly realised the awkwardness of the situation and schooled his surprised expression into one of confidence.

"Oh! Malfoy!" Granger greeted him with a warm, if not slightly perplexed smile.

Creating an impression that he had known it was her all along Draco smiled in return.

"Granger. Hope you don't mind, I thought I could buy an old school friend a drink?"

Hermione looked at him with a smirk.

"Old school friend?" she giggled. "Well, yes I suppose we were friends in the end weren't we? "

"Absolutely. Now let me get this for you."

Draco ordered himself a beer, and the pair quickly struck up a relaxed and animated conversation. Draco pulled a pair of barstools over and they quickly settled down in their new found spot. Draco was delighted to realise that she already knew that he was undergoing his healer training and she seemed genuinely interested in how he was getting on with it. He felt no shame at all in opening up to her about how difficult he was finding it, and surprised himself at how he opened up to her so easily about his passion for healing.

The conversation naturally flowed into Hermione sharing her news and her job in the Muggle Relations Department at the ministry. She had been working tirelessly to overcome the barriers that had been created between the magical and the muggle worlds as a result of the war, supporting half-blood families who had suffered during the troubles.

Draco realised that in the short time that they had spent at the bar, he had already become quite captivated by Granger. He wasn't sure if he dared to dream that something more might develop from this encounter, especially given their history and the outrage it would provoke in wizarding society. Did he dare to think that she might deign to consider spending more time with him, given those circumstances?

Draco chanced a glance over at Blaise and Theo. They would surely have something to say about the fact that he had just gone gallivanting over to Granger of all people, looking for female company. Blaise, however, was paying no attention to him whatsoever, having ensnared the redhead who was now sitting beside him, giggling inanely as he whispered sweet nothings in her ear. Theo, on the other hand, had a massive grin plastered across his face and was waggling his eyebrows suggestively. His eyes were glued to Draco whilst eating a packet of crisps, shoving them into his mouth like someone at the cinema watching an epic movie.

Draco quickly made up his mind that if he was going to pursue this further, then this was not the best place to do it.

"Granger… do you fancy going somewhere else for another drink? Somewhere a bit quieter?"

She placed her drink down softly and looked up at him with a sympathetic smile.

"Oh... Malfoy I'm so sorry" she stated apologetically. "I… I'm meeting someone actually."

Draco once again slipped his mask of indifference on to hide his disappointment.

"I just got here rather early, with coming straight from work. I'm going on a date, you see."

"Oh, he's here now!" she said as she got down from her bar stool. She gestured with her eyes over to the doorway, where the stocky figure of Justin Finch-Fletchley had just entered. Draco's heart felt like it had sunk into his dragon-hide boots.

Justin gave Hermione a wide grin as he approached, kissing her on both cheeks before obviously looking her over like a piece of meat.

"You… look dazzling," he drawled before noticing Draco sat on the stool nearby.

"Oh? Malfoy! Been entertaining my date for me have you? That's very noble of you, but you can run along now."

Draco gave a wan smile and stood slowly from his stool, picking up his drink to take along.

"Oh, and be a good sport and leave me some beers for when I get home will you? Don't go drinking them all again, huh?" Justin continued rather loudly, before turning to Hermione. "He has a habit of helping himself to my stuff, the cheeky swine!"

Hermione looked questioningly at Draco.

Draco was muttering under his breath, "It was _one _time Justin..."

"Wait, didn't he tell you?" Justin interrupted as he clocked Hermione's puzzled expression. "We got paired up to share student digs together. We're flatmates!" he announced clapping Draco on the back with a broad fake smile decorating his overly large chin.

Draco gave a wide, tight lipped smile in return, but his eyes belied the truth of his feelings. He just couldn't believe his misfortune.

"Well, I'd better leave you to it." he said resignedly, moving around the couple slowly.

"Yes do" came Justin's fast reply, before he leaned in covertly to whisper to Draco as Hermione was busy retrieving her coat.

"And if I were you, I'd throw up a silencing charm before you go to bed tonight. I've got a feeling I might get lucky with this one" he added with a smug wink, before offering Hermione his arm and returning to a more gentlemanly façade.

"Shall we?"

Hermione took his arm and gave Draco a final smile.

"Well, goodnight Draco. And thanks for the drink. It was good catching up."

"It was nothing" he replied quietly as he watched the couple leave together. As the pub door swung to a close, Draco turned back towards the cosy corner where his night had started, shuffling reluctantly back over to his friends.

When he got there he was greeted with the sight of Blaise snogging, no, _eating _the face of his newly acquired red-headed acquaintance. Theo meanwhile, was sitting with his elbows resting on the table, head in hands, shaking his head incredulously at his friends' failed attempt.

"Don't. Say. A word.'" Draco stated pointedly, as he sat heavily onto the couch beside Theo, draining his bottle in an attempt to drown his embarrassment.


	2. Chapter 2

**~two~**

A month had passed since Draco's embarrassing evening at Warlocks. Normally, he would have got over such an event by now, but there was something about Granger that he just couldn't shake off. She had undoubtedly impressed him by how elegant and beautiful she had looked that night, but it was more than just that. The way that they had just fallen into such natural, easy and interesting conversation was a breath of fresh air to him, and he knew that it could be a long time before he felt such a spark again.

Draco was deeply thankful that Justin had not in fact 'got lucky' on his date with Hermione as he had hoped. He didn't think that he could have dealt with such awkwardness immediately after the chain of events in the pub the night before, no matter how much he prided himself on being able to present a cool and indifferent exterior.

Draco hadn't thought that it was possible for him to dislike his pompous flatmate any more than he already did, but the fact that he was still dating Hermione only served to firmly prove him wrong. And Malfoys didn't take very well to being proved wrong, especially by such unpleasant characters as Justin Finch-Fletchley. Draco was feeling more and more like he was having his face deeply rubbed in the shit by having a front row seat to their developing relationship.

Justin was, in Draco's opinion, an arrogant and pompous arse, qualities that he recognised all too easily, having been rather an expert in them himself during his younger years. The difference with Justin was that he did an extremely good job of hiding these qualities from certain people, Hermione included.

He took every opportunity he could to get one up on Draco and to belittle him in small, subtle ways that weren't glaringly obvious to outsiders. Being muggle born, Justin clearly still had an axe to grind over Draco's past. Draco himself had simply come to accept this from most people that he encountered after the war. He also felt that he couldn't really complain about Justin's treatment of him, or anyone else's for that matter, seeing as he had escaped doing time in Azkaban and given an unbelievably generous second chance by wizarding society.

Justin's parents had kicked up an enormous fuss when they discovered that their son had been placed in accommodation with Draco at the start of their healer training. However, Justin had outwardly stated that he had no problem with it. He assured them that having spent their eighth year together back at Hogwarts, they had all moved on and that civility reigned supreme.

Narcissa and Lucius had tried to insist that Draco let them buy him a flat of his own rather than him having to share student digs after being accepted onto the healer programme. But Draco had insisted that he didn't want any special treatment that would single him out from the other students. He wanted to have the same experience as all the other student healers and convinced his parents that a flat share would do him good. It would give him the chance to fend for himself, rather than relying on the house elves that his parents had undoubtedly planned to bestow upon him.

The Malfoy's riches and lavish lifestyle was a big point of social debate after the war, with many feeling that the family had got off far too lightly for their crimes. In his efforts to distance himself from his life of privilege, Draco had arranged for his inheritance to be locked down so that he only had minimal access to funds. He was determined to be strict on himself and to make a pointed effort to live more modestly, allowing himself a practical budget each month and sticking within it.

He instead urged his parents to use their wealth to support the post war effort, and, despite Lucius' clear distaste, he had allowed his wife to pursue charitable works. Narcissa had already hosted a number of small fundraising events that were gaining in success and popularity.

It wasn't well-known among his school mates, but Justin actually came from a very wealthy muggle family, and as such had a rather different attitude to using his and his parents' money. His parents had paid for their shared flat to be completely redecorated and had had the finest furniture and muggle appliances installed in Justin's room and the shared areas.

Draco's room of course remained simple and modest, just as he preferred. His mother had wanted to make a contribution to the cost of the renovation, but Draco had firmly insisted that it was not necessary. He hadn't wanted the lavish items in the first place and was not going to let his parents contribute towards Justin's ostentatious needs.

Justin took every opportunity that he could to casually mention to his friends or visitors how it was _his_ parents that had provided it all. This often resulted in shocked looks of disdain in Draco's direction which he would quietly ignore. Justin was a master at casually flashing his wealth and he used this position to his advantage whenever he could and he too had often attracted the attention of many a vapid witch, and had brought many of them back to the flat.

Draco reluctantly admitted to himself that it was like living with an alternative version of himself, from a "no war" universe when he hadn't learnt to change his attitude and beliefs. He often wondered if he was being served with a great big dollop of Justin - shaped Karma, just to serve him right for his past behaviours.

Justin would buy unnecessarily expensive things for the flat - gadgets and furnishings and the like. He would openly encourage Draco to use them and help himself, but then subtly make sure it was known to any visitors who had bought them, thus making himself the generous and forgiving benefactor.

Draco's life since the war had been bound by the rules and restrictions placed on him on account of him not being sent to Azkaban. Every choice he made since then had been granted under strict conditions that he had to adhere to or risk losing everything. He had been allowed to attend Hogwarts in eighth year on the strict condition that he maintained outstanding grades and standards of conduct and his magic had been traced and monitored throughout, like being eleven years old again.

When he was accepted on the healer training course it was again under strict conditions that he maintain the same high grades and standards of conduct. Any undesirable or antisocial behaviours would result in him being immediately expelled from the course. It was for these reasons that Draco quietly ignored his flatmate's behaviour, and when not on placement at the hospital, he spent a lot of time in his room or hanging out with Blaize and Theo elsewhere.

It was quite early that Saturday morning when Draco had woken with a pounding headache and his mouth feeling as dry as a hag's gusset. It was before seven a.m. He had been out and got spectacularly drunk with Zabini and Nott the night before, thanks to Theo's penchant for buying firewhiskey chasers. Draco had been eager to escape the flat, having been listening to Justin's incessant bragging about his plans to take Hermione out to a very expensive restaurant that evening. He had crawled back to the flat at around midnight and necked a few of Justin's cans of muggle lager just to spite him, before passing out into a deep, alcohol induced coma as soon as his blond head had hit the pillow.

Sitting up in bed and scratching his dishevelled head, Draco winced at the pulsating sensation of his brain within. Looking around, he saw his clothes in a pile on the floor and vaguely recalled struggling to keep his balance as he had stripped them off. His boxers were tangled inside his piled and crumpled trousers, having taken them off all in one staggering movement the night before.

Desperate for water, Draco's tongue stuck dryly to the back of his throat, but there was no sign of his wand to conjure up a quick aguamenti. He realised with regret that he must have left it in his jacket, wherever the hell that might be. Probably in the lounge somewhere. He stood up stiffly from the bed, still wearing his novelty Golden Snitch socks that Theo had given him for his birthday along with a copy of Witches' Snitches magazine - a 'top shelf' adult rag which definitely had nothing to do with Quidditch.

He made his way across his dark room. He didn't normally walk around the flat naked, but the thought of bending down to retrieve his underpants was making him feel nauseous and there was zero chance of Justin being up at this hour having been out later than him the night before. Shuffling clumsily like a newly resurrected inferius and yawning widely, Draco walked through his room's doorway and across the dimly lit lounge. He was determined to get himself a pint of water and to try to locate some hangover potion as quickly as possible before returning to bed.

"Don't you rich boys bother with clothes in private?" came a mortifyingly familiar, female voice from over by the window.

"Bollocks!" Draco swore quietly, crashing into the coffee table and grabbing a cushion from the nearest sofa, quickly holding it over his groin to cover his modesty. He slowly looked up to inevitably see a pair of pretty, amber orbs eying him with a blush and a barely contained grin from across the room.


	3. Chapter 3

**~three~**

Draco stood staring, wide-eyed at Hermione for several seconds, opening and closing his mouth like a beached grindylow. She was wearing what Draco understood to be one of Justin's rugby shirts - a strange and brutal muggle sport that he recalled trying to understand one afternoon, when Justin had put it on the massively over-sized television in their lounge.

Her legs were bare, apart from a pair of thick, oversized socks and her hair was a delicious riot of wild curls. She had a mug of coffee in her hand and it was clear that she could hardly contain the smirk that was growing steadily across her face. Draco's heart fell to the floor as the realisation that she must have finally spent the night with Justin dawned on him.

Hermione's eyes travelled down his body and he felt himself shrinking away from her wandering gaze.

"Nice cushion" she stated with a small nod towards his groin.

Draco snapped out of his shocked stupor.

"What?" he asked, looking down quickly.

To his horror, he realised that he had inadvertently grabbed one of the supposedly 'comedic' cushions that Theo had bought Draco as a moving in gift. They were large, white and square shaped, with crude message in large letters emblazoned on the front. Theo found them utterly hilarious. Draco found them utterly tasteless but Justin's horrified expression made it totally worth putting up with them, leaving them scattered across Justin's ridiculously expensive sofas.

Mortified, Draco realised that the cushion he had had grabbed happened to be plastered with the delightful phrase "Sit On It", complete with an embroidered hand giving the middle finger that at this moment was covered by his own hand.

"Shit!" Draco whispered, grabbing his jacket that was still strewn across the sofa from the night before, and using it to cover the embarrassing invitation that the cushion was proposing.

"Ah… erm, excuse me…" he stately mutely, removing the cushion from behind his jacket and tossing it down, before walking unsteadily backwards into his room and toeing the door shut.

He grabbed his bathrobe and a pair of pyjama bottoms from his wardrobe, putting them on swiftly, desperately wondering how to face Hermione again after yet another embarrassing encounter.

He thanked the gods that he had drunk himself into a coma the night before and so hadn't had to listen Justin's bedroom antics. Justin had a disturbing and annoying habit of forgetting to use silencing charms when entertaining ladies in his room, and it was always left up to Draco to put up the charms to protect his ears from his flatmate's ridiculous noises.

He took a deep breath, opened the door and walked quietly into the lounge once more. On the coffee table was now a pint glass full of water and a small vial of Soberup potion. Hermione was now over by the tall bookcase that housed what Draco called Justin's 'Ego Collection', consisting of photos of Justin at various celebratory moments, muggle sports trophies, framed certificates and the like.

Hermione however, was preoccupied by the contents of the highest shelves. These contained a collection of Draco's books that he couldn't fit on the bookshelf in his own room, as well as his small but growing collection of muggle vinyl records.

Since eighth year, Draco had developed a love of muggle music. Justin of course had an all singing, all dancing CD player in the flat, as well as something new called an iPod that he used to play his banal and trite music, much to Draco's disgust. Draco much preferred his vintage record player that he had picked up from a curiosity shop on Diagon Alley, along with some old vinyls of a band called The Who. The shop sold all kinds of strange muggle artefacts and Draco had always secretly enjoyed looking in at the window as a child, being careful of course not to let his father notice.

Since buying the record player, Draco had bravely begun to venture out into the muggle world, to markets and second hand sales to extend his collection. He found that he loved to immerse himself in the muggle music that he would never have entertained sullying his pureblood ears with in a former life.

Hermione had been flipping through his music collection, finding The Beatles and David Bowie among many others. She had then begun to turn her attention to his books and had clearly been leafing through a couple that were now lying open on a lower shelf, before she had spotted another which had caught her attention at the far corner of the topmost shelf.

With avid fascination, Draco watched as she went up on her tiptoes and reached up to pull his copy of 'Healing The Unhealable' by Epione Jones from its place. As she did so, the hem of Justin's rugby shirt rose slowly up, revealing the slightest hint of the curve of her peachy buttocks and a black, lacy edged pair of knickers.

Draco, who was still shuffling silently across the room, eyes glued to the sight before him, promptly crashed into the coffee table yet again, sending the water that Hermione had prepared for him sloshing everywhere. She whipped around quickly and gave him a devilishly mischievous grin, book in hand.

"Oh, hello again!" she said. "Almost didn't recognise you with your clothes on."

Draco laughed. "Disappointed are we, Granger?" he quipped, trying to divert attention away from his dreadful faux-pas earlier. She didn't answer, but rolled her eyes playfully.

"I made you a drink. And… I had a feeling you might be in need of some Soberup from the number of empty beer cans that are lying around this morning?"

"Thanks," Draco replied, settling down onto one of the sofas.

"I didn't realise Justin had got such good books hidden away over here," she said, thankfully changing the course of conversation from Draco's nakedness and state of inebriation. She started to flip through the book in her hand avidly.

"Oh… well those two shelves house my belongings actually," Draco explained.

She looked up questioningly.

"What? Even the vinyls?" she asked.

"Yes, Granger. Even the vinyls."

"Wow!" she mouthed with an impressed nod of her head. She grabbed her coffee and walked over to the lounge, sitting on the smaller two-seater sofa opposite. Hermione picked up the offending cushion from earlier and threw it across the room so that it landed next to Draco.

"You boys really do have interesting taste in décor" she mused, holding up her mug purposefully. It was emblazoned with the phrase "_I Tried To Stop Swearing, But I Cunt_" in large red letters.

Draco nearly choked on the mouthful of water that he was drinking when he spotted it. He coughed loudly and put his pint glass back down on the table with a slam.

"Ah…" he said after stifling a few more coughs. "Um, Theo's idea of a joke, apparently."

Hermione nodded and set her mug down on the table, across from his glass.

"So you and Justin, huh?" Draco ventured after a moment of silence. "How's that going?"

Hermione momentarily glanced down at her state of attire and pulled the hem of the rugby top down a little further over her thighs.

"Oh, erm… very well, thanks." She chewed her lip in a thoughtful demeanour, before continuing.

"I know this is going to sound totally shallow, but I'm really enjoying having someone spoil me a little bit, you know? It's something I'm certainly_ not_ used to," she added with a conspiratorial raise of her eyebrows.

Draco knew immediately that she was making reference to her well-publicised relationship with Weasley, whom she had been dating, albeit long-distance, during their eighth year at Hogwarts. He gave an understanding nod.

"I'm just finding dating someone with basic good manners and gentlemanly behaviours quite refreshing, I guess," Hermione concluded quietly, reaching for her coffee once more.

Draco absorbed her last statement with a churn of annoyance in his stomach. He couldn't deny that Justin would seem like an absolute Prince Charming when compared to Weasley. He decided to change the subject swiftly, regretting bringing Justin up in the first place.

"So, _Healing the Unhealable_ then? I assume you've read it?" he asked gesturing with a nod towards the bookcase.

Hermione's eyes immediately came alive with a spark of interest.

"No! I haven't actually, but I've heard of it and been looking out for a copy."

"WHAT?!" Draco interjected, feigning shock and clutching at his chest as though his heart had stopped. "A book that Hermione Granger HASN'T read?! Quick! Call The Daily Prophet!"

"Oh, ha -bloody -ha!" she replied with mock scowl and a smile. "Seriously though, I'm fascinated by Jones' theories on restorative potions for brain healing. Just think of its potential applications!"

Hermione continued avidly, her eyes wide with enthusiasm as she raved about the subject that was clearly of enormous interest to her. Draco smiled to himself. "There she is," he mused to himself, "…the mega-brained bookworm from school."

Hermione caught sight of his broad grin and it stopped her in her tracks.

"What?" she asked, with a puzzled smile of her own.

"Nothing!" Draco answered. "Just remembering what a complete _bibliophile_ you are. When I think about it, it's truly surprising that you've ended up with Justin, when you probably want nothing more than to engage in some kind of weird, kinky threesome with Flourish and Blotts."

Hermione gasped, before wrinkling her nose up at the suggestion of a sexual encounter with the ancient booksellers.

"Ew! They've been dead for 200 years, Malfoy!" she exclaimed with disgust.

"Well whatever levitates your broom, Granger…" he replied before getting hit in the face with another of Theo's cushions.

The pair continued their relaxed and playful conversation, Draco making them both more coffee as they chatted at length about books, work and school memories, before getting on to the subject of Draco's interest in muggle music. Hermione suggested a few musicians that she thought he might like, and was particularly animated when they discussed The Beatles.

She talked about how 'Here Comes The Sun' was her favourite song growing up, as her dad used to play it to her. She talked about family picnics in the Forest of Dean, where her dad would take along something called a cassette player, and they'd listen to favourite songs, read books, chuck a football around, eat sausage rolls and egg sandwiches and drink something she called Dandelion and Burdock, which Draco of course had never heard of.

Hermione's eyes were glazed with tears as finished reminiscing about her parents and an awkward silence fell over them. Draco had found out on the school grapevine about what Hermione had done to protect her parents during the war. It had left him feeling both horrified and completely in awe of the gifted witch. Her actions, he felt, were a stark contrast to his at that time, as he had chosen to mindlessly follow the values of an insane psychopath despite the clear threat to his family, whereas she had acted bravely and selflessly to protect the ones she loved.

"I'm sorry about your parents, Hermione," he stated quietly.

She sighed sadly and took a sip of her coffee.

"Well, obliviation was just a necessary evil at the time. And I'm a victim of my own success I guess. I wanted the spell to work so badly that when I cast it, I inadvertently added some unknown power into it, making it thus far irreversible."

Draco absorbed this information thoughtfully as she continued.

"I grieve for them every day, Draco. But I don't regret doing it for a second. They're alive and well, and I'm determined that the healers will eventually find a way to reverse it."

The room returned to silence again as the pair sipped their coffees thoughtfully.

A moment later, Justin's bedroom door opened with a click and its occupant stood in the doorway wearing his black, satin sheet wrapped around his waist. He leaned languorously against the doorpost, arms folded across his chest. Draco thought he was trying to look sexy but was pleased to see that Hermione didn't really pay him much attention.

"I thought I heard voices out here!" Justin said cheerfully. "For a moment, I thought you'd ran away from me."

Hermione gave a short laugh.

"No, no. Just needed a drink and bumped into Malfoy here."

"So I see. Gods Malfoy, you look shocking!" Justin remarked looking over and taking in his flatmate's appearance and messy hair. "Well it serves you right for drinking all my bloody beers again!"

Hermione gave Draco an appraising look and he reached for the vial of Soberup which he suddenly realised still lay unopened on the coffee table. It seemed that chatting to Hermione had somehow taken his mind off his hangover, which had now suddenly returned upon Justin's entrance to the room. He chugged the potion back in one go, wincing slightly at the unpleasant taste.

"Anyway..." Justin said, stalking forwards lecherously towards Hermione. "…I'm just heading off for a shower."

He perched on the arm of Hermione's sofa and cocked his leg up on the coffee table, allowing his sheet to fall open slightly.

"Care to join me?" he whispered a little too loudly in Hermione's ear.

Draco stood up swiftly, earning himself a surge of throbbing brain ache, as the vial of Soberup had unfortunately not yet taken effect.

"Excuse me…" he said stiffly, before retreating away to the solace of his room, muttering "…I have to go and clean my eyes out with fiendfyre". He closed the door firmly behind him, and hurriedly cast a silencing charm, not wanting to hear Hermione's response or what might follow.


	4. Chapter 4

**~four~**

It had been several weeks since Draco had been home to visit his parents, and finding himself free one Thursday afternoon, he decided to pay a visit to the manor. Using the floo from his and Justin's shared flat, he stepped from the ornate fireplace into the manor's reception room, to be greeted by the familiar pop of house elf apparition.

A small elf dressed in a custom made, grey suit bowed heavily towards him. Since the war, it had become law for all house elves to freed and those choosing to continue in service, as many did, due to their inherent, loyal nature, were required to be treated as paid employees.

"Hello Loxey," Draco greeted. "Are mother and father home?"

The elf shook his head rapidly. "Master Draco, Sir, I is afraid Mr Malfoy is in town. Madam is home, but she is entertaining a visitor in the orangery."

"And who might that be?" Draco asked, removing his jacket and levitating it over to the coat stand in the corner.

"The pretty miss, Sir, from the ministry. I believes it is about Madame's ball."

Draco's heart missed a beat as he realised who exactly Loxey was referring to. "Ah, well could you inform her that I'm here please?"

"Certainly, Master Draco."

"Oh and … you couldn't bring me some of those delicious cherry scones of yours could you? I'll take them in the library."

The little elf blinked and beamed with pride before bowing deeply and disappearing with a pop.

Draco took a moment to take in the surroundings of his childhood home. This room had always been used as the manor's floo point and had been arranged as a reception area. He noted how his mother had arranged some new photographs on the expansive, mahogany sideboard. There was a snap of him in his healer garbs that she had insisted he have owled over to her on his first day at St Mungo's. There were also a few snaps of her last charity event - an afternoon tea, held in the manor's grounds. Yes, Draco could see how hard his mother was trying to make a good impression on any visitors to the manor.

As he walked out into the corridor, Draco smiled to himself as he noted the newly painted wall panels, that now had creamy and pastel hues. It was a stark contrast to the dark and heavy gothic interior he had grown up with. Windows throughout this part of the building had been opened up by the removal of all the heavy and dark drapery and valances, and soft, iridescent voiles hung in their place. The whole corridor was bathed in warm, afternoon sunshine and the removal of the angry, family portraits certainly added to the overall effect.

Narcissa Malfoy had been very gradually introducing these interior changes to the manor. She had experienced a great deal of resistance from her husband at first but was determined to see it through and, using all her Slytherin cunning and charms, had managed to begin the slow but certain transformation.

Draco had made his way along the first corridor, and was turning off towards the west wing that housed the library. This part of the building had not yet begun to be refurbished, and the difference here was dramatically noticeable. The sudden change from light and airy, to shadowy and heavy was stark and oppressive. Draco felt the cold creeping of the darkness of the war beginning to return to his conscience and he shuddered at the effect.

He continued on with a deep breath before halting abruptly at an unfamiliar sound. He could hear… something. A quiet but nevertheless very noticeable sound of … breathing. Heavy breathing. And then a little sniff.

Instantly concerned, he strode quickly forwards, wand in hand, his eyes wide and darting around to discern where the sound was coming from.

Only a few meters ahead and backed firmly into a large doorway, he discovered Hermione. Her back was pressed into the corner between the door and the doorframe. Her eyes were wide and filled with tears, staring around wildly. She had the palm of one hand pressed to her chest as she breathed heavily and intermittently, whilst the other was splayed against the dark wood of the door, as if to steady herself.

"Granger?" Draco called as he rushed towards her. She didn't move an inch.

"I… I…" she stuttered, struggling to control her breathing and talk at the same time.

Draco tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder, looking deeply into her brown eyes.

"Hey, hey. It's ok!" he assured before calling calmly for Loxey to bring a draught of peace from his mother's supplies.

"Come on, Granger," he said quietly as he slowly guided his arm around her shoulder and with his other hand took hers in his. "Let's get you out of here."

He gently guided Hermione through the manor until they reached some French doors that led out into the most beautiful Italian garden. They continued together, down the stone steps and onto a neat gravel path, finding a bench to sit on.

Hermione continued to breath heavily but now much more regularly, as she took in the fresh air and change of surroundings. Draco was still holding her hand, grazing his thumb gently across her skin and watching her carefully with concern.

Loxey arrived swiftly with a vial of calming draught and which she gratefully drank, slowly feeling it's comforting effect take a hold. Draco sent him away but asked him to be ready to come back quickly if called upon.

After a few minutes, she ventured a glance in Draco's direction, to find him still watching her.

"Oh, Draco. I'm so sorry! I…"

"It's ok! Don't try to apologise," he interjected. "I assume you're visiting my mother?"

"Yes. Ministry business. We want to support her with her gala evening. It's a great idea…" she trailed off, swallowing thickly and taking a deep and calming breath.

…but I needed the loo… and then I must've taken a wrong turn. I… I ended up … well lost, and then…" she looked down with embarrassment, fiddling nervously with the hem of her jumper.

"Things started looking a bit _familiar_..?" Draco ventured.

Their eyes met once more, Hermione's full of an unspoken apology.

"Yes! I told them at work that I was going to be fine. What happened here is in the past… and I _was _fine, you know? Your mother has been so kind… but… but then I stupidly went the wrong way and ended up …. ARRRGH!" she shouted with a frustrated growl, snatching her hand away from Draco's and gesticulating angrily.

"Stupid, bloody panic attacks!" she exclaimed with frustration.

Her eyes suddenly rounded with realisation. "And your poor mother! I must've been gone for ages! Whatever must she be thinking?! Oh, I've ruined everything!"

"You've done nothing of the sort, Granger. For such a smart witch, you don't half talk some nonsense." Draco chided with a small smile. She turned her head sharply to him.

"Who could possibly blame you for feeling this way when visiting this place? It's _us_ who should be sorry, Granger. And … we are. Deeply so."

Hermione returned a small smile of her own at Draco's genuine words.

"I know. But that just makes me feel even worse for ending up like this, when you and your family have been making such an enormous effort to make amends."

"Granger…" said Draco, pressing his fingers into the bridge of his nose, "… the very fact that you even came here is testament to your wish to see beyond our past actions and to give us a second chance."

He turned to face her once more. "Don't be so hard on yourself for struggling with what happened to you here. It was fucking horrible. I was there, remember?"

A sombre silence fell over them both, and they sat staring ahead, taking in the view of the neatly manicured lawns and flower beds before them for a few moments.

"Come on now," Draco said standing up from the bench and turning to face her again. "I'll show you to the bathroom and wait for you. You can freshen up and when we go to mother, I'll tell her that I distracted you and we lost track of time."

Hermione considered his suggestion with a worried expression, chewing her lip nervously.

"It'll be fine!" he reassured her. "We'll stay well away from _that part_ of the manor. Honestly, mother will be so glad to see me that she'll soon forget that you kept her waiting for so long."

Hermione smiled and nodded. He held out his hand which she took and he helped her up from the bench, enjoying momentarily how her hand felt in his, before she let go and followed him back into his childhood home.

Narcissa was sitting at a small table in the orangery when Draco and Hermione arrived. There was paperwork and a mood board spread out across its surface.

"Miss Granger! There you are!" she chimed upon Hermione's return, before her eyes drifted behind to her companion.

"Hello mother," Draco greeted as he came forward, placing a soft kiss on his mother's cheek.

"Darling, what a wonderful surprise! That hospital has kept you away from me for far too long!" she said, beaming adoringly at her son.

Hermione stood back and took in the sight of Narcissa. She noted how her eyes sparkled with pride as she absorbed the sight of Draco. Hermione had suspected for a long time that the two must share a very special bond, especially following her brave actions both during and after the war.

"Mother, you must forgive me," Draco began, taking a step away from his mother and pulling out the nearby ornate, white chair for Hermione in a gentlemanly act of chivalry. "I bumped into Miss Granger here, and of course, being old friends from school, we got quite caught up in conversation."

Narcissa looked suddenly across at Hermione who was now walking meekly towards the table and chair. It was as though Draco's arrival had indeed caused her to forget about her meeting with the girl from the ministry, just as Draco had predicted a few minutes earlier.

She waved her hand nonchalantly as Hermione retook her seat.

"Nonsense, dear. No need to apologise at all. Miss Granger and I had all but finished our little _tete-a-tete_ and were just about to take some tea. Will you be joining us, Draco?" she asked eagerly.

Draco shook his head. "Thank you, mother, but no. I think I'll leave you two ladies to your planning. I'll be in the library if you need me."

He noticed that Hermione immediately looked sharply in his direction, with wide eyes full of interest at the mention of the manor's library. He couldn't help but smile at her with a playful roll of his eyes, to which she smiled back with a blush.

Unbeknown to the pair was the fact that the small interaction had not been missed by Mrs Malfoy, whose blue eyes carefully took in the connection between the two young people before her.

"The library, dear?" she asked, continuing to eye the couple carefully.

"Yes, mother. I'm certain that we have a relatively unknown book on restoring memories somewhere in our collection. It will be a huge help to my independent study."

"You've chosen _memory restoration_ as your study?" Hermione asked with a shocked expression.

Draco smiled knowingly. "Yes. It's an affliction that has affected many of late."

Hermione's eyes twinkled with emotion as Draco briefly kissed his mother again.

"I'll be in the library then, should you need me," he said before turning to her.

"Goodbye Hermione. It was unexpected pleasure to see you here."

"Likewise," she replied before he walked quietly away, leaving her to finish her meeting with Mrs Malfoy, her eyes following him every step of the way - a point most definitely not lost on her table companion.

The gala evening that had been planned by Mrs Malfoy promised to be a wonderful affair. Hermione had assisted in selecting the charitable groups that the funds would go to support, and helped with the ministry guest list. As she was packing away her notes and belongings into her smart dragon-hide satchel, there came a pop of apparition as Loxey arrived with a small trolley of tea, sandwiches and cakes, served on the most decorative china that Hermione had ever seen.

Loxey kept eying Hermione with huge eyes full of concern as the table was set, making her fidget uncomfortably in her seat. She was relieved when the elf finally disappeared and Mrs Malfoy began the ritual of pouring tea, gesturing to Hermione to help herself to a sandwich or sweet.

"So, Miss Granger, of course you will be coming along to the gala." Narcissa declared.

Hermione nearly choked on her tea with surprise.

"I..um… well, thank you Mrs Malfoy," she replied, setting her teacup down on its saucer and regaining her composure. "That's very kind of you, but it would be rather unusual for someone of my standing…"

"Nonsense" came the fast reply. "You will be a most honoured guest and I absolutely insist that you are there. And I shall be inviting your friends as well."

"Harry and Ron?" Hermione questioned with further disbelief.

"That is correct. I owe so much to the three of you - yourself, Mr Potter and Mr Weasley. You spoke up for my son so selflessly during the trials. A trifling invitation to a gala evening is nowhere near enough to express my thanks, I realise, but I hope it's a start," she said, taking a delicate sip from her cup.

Hermione noticed her companion's eyes sparkling but her composure remained stoic as she broached the difficult subject. Setting her cup down, Narcissa smiled at her broadly before changing the subject.

"So, tell me Miss Granger, will you be bringing a _special someone_ along to the gala?"

"Oh, well, possibly. I've been dating someone for a couple of months now, so he would naturally be my date, assuming we are still together then. He's undertaking the healer programme, actually."

Narcissa's eyes lit up with curiosity and excitement. "_Really? _Is it someone… I might know?"

"Yes actually. You _do_ know him."

Narcissa's smile spread widely across her rose pink lips and her eyes widened in anticipation.

"His name is Justin Finch-Fletchley. He shares student lodgings with your son."

While Mrs Malfoy's smile remained frozen in place, her eyes belied her disappointment. "Ah, yes, of course. Mr Finch-Fletchley. Draco does mention him from time to time. You know, my husband and I tried so hard to convince Draco to let us buy him a flat of his own, but he was so insistent that he try the 'student' life for himself."

"Really?"

"Oh yes. He wouldn't even let us contribute towards getting the place more… _comfortable_," she carefully explained.

Hermione absorbed the information with interest as Narcissa continued with a sigh.

"Yes, our Draco is determined to prove himself, not only through his healer training, but also through the way he lives his life. He's trying so hard to make changes."

Hermione nodded empathetically. "Yes, I can see that."

"Do you know," Narcissa said, leaning in towards Hermione with a mischievous demeanour, "during his final year at Hogwarts, he came home one weekend and declared over dinner that he intended to become a small business owner, selling Muggle music paraphernalia of all things!"

Hermione couldn't help but give a small laugh at the image conjured.

"You mean vinyl records and the like. When I've visited the flat, I've have noticed that he has quite a growing collection."

"Yes, yes, something like that," Mrs Malfoy replied, wafting her hand around with indifference.

"Looking back now, I believe that that was the point when it all began - Draco distancing himself from all this," she said gesturing around at the manor's lavish interior.

"There has always been so much expectation placed on him to emulate his father, even from a very young age. Just imagine Lucius' outrage when Draco announced his plans!" she said with a playful smile.

Hermione's eyes widened at the thought, and she nodded understandably before taking another sip of tea, allowing her companion to continue.

"I have to admit; we were _both_ rather relieved when he instead turned his attentions to healership. Such a noble art."

"Yes it is," Hermione agreed. "And sadly one that we are desperate need of in terms of recruitment and development, as a result of the war."

"Quite," the matriarch agreed quietly.

"Draco tells me that he has been finding his training quite challenging recently."

"Yes he is. You know, dear, I often wish he had a close companion, a… _girlfriend _if you like. Just someone to keep an eye on him and care for him during this time. I do so worry about him."

Hermione smiled. "Well you can count on me to check in on him whenever I'm round there."

Narcissa reached out in a touching gesture, taking hold of Hermione's hands in hers and looking deeply into her eyes, which widened with unconcealed surprise.

"Thank you, dear. You are such a uniquely gifted young lady," she stated emphatically, before withdrawing her hands and reaching for the teapot. "Would you care for another?"

"Thank you Mrs Malfoy, but no. I'm afraid I must be getting back now."

"Of course, of course! I shall ensure that Loxey sees you to the floo safely."

She called out Loxey's name and, taking her quite by surprise once more, took hold of Hermione's shoulders and kissed her lightly on each cheek.

"I am delighted to have finally made your acquaintance, dear," she whispered.

"And I yours. It's been a lovely afternoon." Hermione replied, before being led away by Loxey along the corridor and back to the reception room where she had arrived. She wondered with longing, which of the large, oak doors might lead to the library that Draco had mentioned earlier.

Her thoughts then turned to Draco himself and a small smile spread across her lips as she imagined him running a little record shop on Diagon Alley. As ridiculous as it had first sounded, she actually thought that it would really suit him, and wondered if he had sadly squandered this dream in pursuit of something more 'noble' as Narcissa had put it, in order to prove himself to the world.

Loxey levitated her jacket over to her and she made her way to the manor floo, her heart full of new-found fondness for the Malfoy mother and son.


	5. Chapter 5

**~five~**

A couple of weeks had passed since Draco's chance encounter with Hermione at the manor. She had been spending more time round at the flat with Justin since then and, although it drove him crazy that she was still seeing him, Draco couldn't deny that he looked forward to her visits. It gave them chance to talk and spend small snippets of time together when Justin wasn't paying too much attention.

It was early one Wednesday afternoon and Draco had just left a lecture on rare medicinal herbs and their magical properties. He was heading across St Mungo's' courtyard to the refectory when he spotted Theo, perched on the railings by the doorway leading into the main building.

"Theo!" he called out as he approached. "What're you doing here?"

"Alright numb nuts. It's nice to see you too. Wondered if you fancied a few jars over lunchtime?" Theo asked, getting up from his seat and stretching idly.

"No, I can't mate. I've got ward rounds after lunch and then I really want to work on my dissertation."

"Aw, you're no fun Malfoy," Theo replied with a faux pout and giving his friend a playful shove. "You're really getting stuck in to your work at the moment. Feels like we haven't had a lads' night for ages."

"Well that might have something to do with the fact that you've been spending all your spare time with Davis." Draco replied giving him a shove back in return. "I take it you two are still an item?"

"Yep! And I take it you are still unhappily single?"

Draco rolled his eyes and before quietly nodding his confirmation of the sad fact.

"Oh don't tell me, you're still moping about missing out on getting in Granger's knickers…?"

"Theo," Draco interrupted sharply with a warning glare "I suggest you stop right there."

"Okay, okay! Jeez, Draco!" Theo relented holding his hands up in surrender. "You really got stung didn't you?"

Draco paused for a moment in an attempt to regain his composure, but the urge to release his pent up frustration eventually got the better of him and he let out an exasperated breath. "It's driving me fucking insane!"

Theo patted his friend on the back in a comforting gesture. "Come on mate, let's go get a bite to eat and you can tell Uncle Nottykins all about it."

The pair wandered casually along the hospital passageway as Draco began to fill his friend in on all his frustrations and feelings for Hermione.

He told him about how he recently ran into her at the manor of all places. He spoke in confidence to him about her panic attack and how he had employed his house elf to spy on Hermione for the rest of the afternoon to make sure she was alright.

He told him how what had happened with her parents had inspired his choice of independent study, being determined to find a solution and to secure her happiness.

Joining the queue in the canteen to pick out some lunch, Draco began to rant about how frustrating it was to see Hermione dating Justin, knowing what an absolute prick he could be, but having to admit that it seemed that he was actually treating Hermione well.

Theo let out a low whistle as he grabbed two packs of cheese and ploughman's pickle sandwiches and some pumpkin juice from the magi-chill refrigerator.

"Man. That …"

"…totally sucks?" Draco suggested.

"What totally sucks now?" came a familiar voice from behind them as Justin clapped the pair on their backs jovially, leaning forwards between the pair to choose some sandwiches for himself.

Draco and Theo eyed each other, before Theo made a wanking gesture with his fist behind Justin's back.

"Having to do ward rounds straight after lunch," Draco replied quickly.

"Ah. Yes well that _is_ unfortunate," Justin agreed with a smirk. "Fortunately, for me, I've got the afternoon to work on my study - oh I'll get these," he said loudly to the cashier, paying for all three lunches before they had chance to refuse. "Although I'm not exactly sure that _you_ should be eating lunch in here Nott."

Justin picked up the tray of drinks and sandwiches and carried them over to a table - leaving Theo and Draco no choice but to follow and join him.

They grimaced at each other as they trailed behind him and sat down sullenly at the table. They opened their sandwiches and ate in awkward silence for a few minutes, Theo making more daft gestures of vomiting and choking whenever Justin wasn't looking.

Suddenly, Justin seemed to remember something and, chewing his last mouthful and making a muffled sound, reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, black box, pushing it across the table towards Draco and tapping it with a smug smirk.

"Check that out, lads," he announced, leaning back and folding his arms confidently across his puffed out chest. "Went and collected it this morning."

Draco gave Theo a puzzled look before tentatively reaching out to untie the ribbon that held it together and lifting the lid.

Inside the box was perhaps the most garish and ugly piece of jewellery that Draco had ever seen. The yellow gold chain of the necklace was made up of thick links and the pendant was a large, orangey-red garnet love heart gemstone, with gold outspread wings imitating a golden snitch.

Draco and Theo eyed each other once more, Draco immediately looking away, knowing that Theo's expression might make him laugh out loud if he looked at him for too long.

"Is this for … Hermione?" he asked.

"Indeed it is," Justin replied smugly. "It's her birthday next week. I knew someone like you would appreciate fine quality when you see it."

Draco sat and stared at the necklace for a few seconds mulling over the thoughts racing through his mind. The thing was hideous and trying to picture Hermione happily wearing it was an impossible task. Of course, Draco knew exactly what kind of jewellery she favoured. He'd noticed her delicate silver chains and simple pendants. She wore a plain silver band on her little finger and her earrings were always simple studs, hoops or sometimes unique little cuffs that he presumed to be a muggle fashion. How Justin could consider for one second that this thing was to her taste was beyond him.

It was Theo who broke the silence first.

"So _Finchley_," he began, earning a twitch from Justin's left eye at the use of the nickname that he knew Justin disliked, "Looks like things are getting serious between you and Granger then?"

Justin considered this for a moment before replying.

"Well, I don't know about _that_," he said, tucking into the second half of his sandwich. "But I definitely want to keep seeing her… and we've not been seeing other people."

As he said it, Draco noticed that Justin's eyes flickered across to the other side of the hall, lingering on one of the newly recruited trainee nurse practitioners, who was sitting in the corner with her friends. He followed Justin's gaze, recognising her bright blonde hair and realising that he had done ward rounds with her earlier in the week.

He recalled how he had noticed that afternoon that her uniform appeared to be rather more short and tight than was customary for their standard issued robes. This became apparent to him when the old wizard she had been tending to had muttered something unspeakable as she had bent over at his bedside to retrieve his notes that had fallen to the floor.

He looked back at Justin with suspicion.

"Does Hermione feel the same way? That your relationship isn't quite that serious yet?"

"Yeah, I think so," Justin replied.

"You _think_ so?" Draco replied incredulously. At that moment, Draco felt a warring of instincts rising inside him. The Slytherin self interest in him, began triumphing in the fact that Justin was going to give Hermione this awful thing for her birthday, totally messing up and potentially making Hermione question their relationship. But then the genuine care that he felt for the girl rose up and picturing her disappointment in the gift filled him with regret.

"Justin, you've been dating for quite a while now, and you seem to be spending more time together lately. Don't you think that you might be sending out the message that you consider your relationship to be rather more serious with this _… this_? he suggested, gesturing towards the box that remained on the table.

Draco felt Theo's wide eyes boring into him with the incredulity that he was seemingly advising Justin on his relationship with Hermione. Justin was giving Draco an appraising look. He then looked at the necklace and closed the box with a sharp snap, sitting back in his chair again and finishing the last mouthful of his lunch.

"Hmmm. You might well be onto something there, Malfoy." he said, narrowing his eyes in thought. "So you think I ought to tone down the gift a bit?"

"Oh I don't know about that mate," Theo interjected loudly. "I mean any girl would just love to get such a _classy_ piece of jewellery as that" he continued, nodding at Draco conspiratorially.

"But I see what Malfoy's saying, Nott. I suppose it _is_ something one would give in a more serious relationship. But..." he trailed off, twirling the box around on the table top and giving an exasperated sigh. "The thing is, I haven't got the foggiest idea what else I could get her."

Draco scowled at Justin incredulously, wondering how on earth this idiot had the brains to both get a place on healer training as well as managing to keep Hermione interested for so long.

"Well, that settles it then!" Theo interjected confidently. "Give her the necklace and have done with i…"

Draco kicked Theo sharply under the table before interrupting him.

"Justin, You've been dating her for _month_s. Surely you've got to know her a little bit?"

Justin searched his mind and then shrugged. "Well, I know what kind of thing she likes in the sack - the little minx!" he said with a lecherous wink. "So, short of gift wrapping my love rod," he continued glancing down at his crotch, causing Theo to spray pumpkin juice down his nose and Draco to grimace in dismay, "… I'm not really sure. I suppose she's still a bit of a reader. You know? Like she was at school?"

Draco rolled his eyes and sighed inwardly. His opposing instincts were tormenting him. He wanted nothing more than for Justin to completely mess things up with Hermione, but moreover he wanted her to be happy and to enjoy her birthday. Gods, what had happened to him, he asked himself. Here he had a prime opportunity to join in with Theo and to encourage Justin to give her the hideous necklace, but his feelings for Hermione were getting in the way.

"Yes Justin, she still likes to read," he admitted through gritted teeth. "In fact…" he went on, screwing up his face with regret at what he knew he was about to inevitably say. ".. there's a couple of books that I know she's interested in."

In his peripheral vision, Draco could tell Theo was shaking his head furiously out of Justin's eyeshot.

"Oh? Well that's brilliant Malfoy!" came Justin's gleeful reply. "So you tell me what they are and I'll just give her those then. But then… Oh I don't know, it just seems a bit boring. I mean, the girl's used to me taking her out to high end restaurants and the like. How does someone give books?"

Without thinking, Draco instinctively blurted out "Well, maybe at a picnic or something?" before stopping himself from assisting his rival any further. At this point Theo dropped his head back, mouth wide open in stunned shock, mouthing incomprehensibly at the heavens.

Draco's inner monologue was seemingly doing the same thing as his Slytherin conscience demanded to know what the fuck he thought he was doing.

Justin looked doubtful for a moment and for a glorious second, Draco thought that he wasn't going to buy the idea at all.

"A picnic you say? Hmmm, well it seems a bit cheap compared to how I usually entertain her. But I suppose I could make it classier with some champagne and canapés…" he continued thoughtfully.

Draco sighed and began to eat his second sandwich that lay untouched on the table. He realised suddenly that he had completely lost his appetite and threw the rest of it back down on the table.

"Whatever Justin." he stated mutely. "I just think that the necklace is a dick move."

He inwardly cursed himself as the reality of what had just happened sunk in. What in the name of Salazar's scrotum did he think he was doing?

In trying to steer Justin away from giving Hermione a necklace that she would undoubtedly dislike and that would certainly give her the wrong idea about Justin's current intentions, he had wound up advising him on the perfect gift that sounded like it was going to be presented in a lavishly romantic fashion.

And to add further insult to injury and thus making this gloriously fucked up situation even worse, was the fact that he had already bought her those books with the intention of giving them to her himself, and they were currently sitting, ready gift-wrapped in the trunk under his bed!

Justin stood up and tucked the jewellery box back in his inside pocket.

"Alright then, nice one Malfoy, thanks for hearing my ideas out. Oh and.." he continued raising the volume of his voice significantly. "…Don't worry about paying me back for lunch. My treat eh?"

He took a last long swig of his drink and sauntered out of the refectory, passing the trainee nurse and her friends who glanced his way before whispering to each other. Theo and Draco looked around and noticed several pairs of eyes regarding them coldly.

"Thanks for hearing_ your_ ideas out?" Theo stated in disbelief, speaking in Justin's direction. "Fucking hell, there wasn't much to hear from you, you fucking prick!"

Draco closed his eyes and shook his head lightly.

"And as for you…" Theo began, turning his attentions to his friend. "What the actual _fuck_ was all that about? Are you out of your Slytherin mind? Since when does Draco Malfoy turn down a prime opportunity to totally stitch up a rival and give away information to ensure his success?

"Just… don't Theo. Don't." came his friend's quiet reply.

Theo sat back and took Draco's depressed demeanour.

"Gods, Draco. You've really got it bad, mate," he remarked with a sympathetic smile.

Draco inwardly agreed with him completely.

"Right, you bugger. Me and you are going out tonight to get you drunk and, for your bonus round, we're going to get you totally laid. I'm owling Blaise straight after we get out of here."

Draco chugged back the rest of his juice, beginning to think that despite having a seminar to attend early the next day, that wasn't such a bad idea after all.


	6. Chapter 6

**~six~**

Draco jogged briskly across the courtyard at the front of the student digs. A relentless autumnal drizzle quickly drenched his hair as he returned to the flat after spending the morning in the library working on his study. As soon as he opened the door to the flat, his stomach churned as he heard the sound of Hermione's voice coming from within. The dreaded day of Hermione's birthday had finally rolled around.

The couple were sitting on the sofa, and it appeared that Justin had just presented Hermione with her gift, as a fancy picnic basket, garnished with a big pick bow lay open on the coffee table. Lying at its side was a bottle of champagne and two wrapped gifts that were clearly the two books Draco had somehow ended up suggesting.

Hermione looked up and smiled brightly at Draco as he made his way over to the lounge.

"Hi."

"Happy birthday," he replied with a small smile in return. "I, um… got you a gift. Let me just..." he trailed off with a nod towards his room, quickly heading off in that direction.

"Oh? You didn't have to do that!" she called after him.

Draco returned a moment later with a thin, flat, square parcel, wrapped in metallic red paper and a gold bow. He handed it to her, stating quietly that she didn't need to open it right now and that he hoped she would like it.

She shook her head incredulously and immediately began to open her gift.

Justin, having an inquisitive look on his face as he observed the interchange between the pair, began to lead the conversation around to his own gift.

"So… the weather's not exactly on our side for my little picnic idea, is it?" he suggested, as Hermione's face lit up at The Beatles' Abbey Road record that Draco had given her. She grinned brightly at him.

"Thanks Draco. And… no Justin. I guess we're going to have to postpone it. I don't even think a shield charm will remedy it?"

Draco, went over to the kitchen to make himself a brew, unable to suppress the satisfied grin on his face as he continued to listen in on their chat.

"Hmm. So… I'd suggest dinner…"

"No, I can't Justin. After you said that you wanted to spend time together during the day today, I promised Ginny I'd go over to hers later for a girls' sleepover. Wedding planning and all that. Sorry."

"Oh don't be silly. No need to apologise. So… how about a spot of lunch then? And we'll have our special picnic on another, drier day. How does that sound?"

"Perfect!" came Hermione's reply.

"Wedding planning?" Draco enquired, perching on one of the tall stools in the kitchen.

"Yes, Harry and Ginny plan on getting married next year. He proposed during the summer holidays."

Draco raised his eyebrows as he took a slurp of his tea. "Potter and Weaselette eh?"

"They've been dating for ages, Draco, since before the war. Didn't you notice how often Harry came to visit Hogwarts during eighth year?"

"Nope," he replied quickly. "Was too busy keeping my head down."

Justin made a small, grumpy sound that sounded a little like "_Hmph_", earning sharp glances from both Hermione and Draco, before he quickly added "Well, I think it's great. Childhood sweethearts and all that? Anyway," he said jumping to his feet and offering Hermione his hand to pull her up. "Shall we go for a little… _birthday nibble_?"

As he said it, he leaned in and nuzzled Hermione's neck and she squirmed away from him with a small giggle and a flush of what Draco thought looked like embarrassment.

"Alright, let's go then," she replied, going to collect her coat from the stand by the door to the flat. As she passed Draco, he noticed that she still had a slightly embarrassed expression, and seemed to not want to meet his eyes.

She put on her coat as Justin came over to fetch his own and she called out to him.

"Thanks again for the gift, Draco. I really like it." And with a click of the door, the couple were gone.

Draco jumped down off the kitchen stool and walked over to the lounge, taking another swig of his drink. He saw the birthday card that Justin had given Hermione lying on the table alongside the picnic basket. It had a picture of a large bouquet of flowers on the front, and reminded him of ones he had owled over to his great aunt as a child.

Draco sorted out some lunch for himself and then returned to his studies in his room for a few more hours. He had hit upon something that he was sure was going to open up a whole realm of possibilities in the field of memory loss and restoration, and had recently found himself filling many hours of his spare time with his research.

At just before 5pm, the floo fired up and Theo called out from the lounge.

"Malfoy, you twat! Where are you hiding?"

Draco tossed his quill down, stretched and walked out into the lounge to greet his friend.

"Theo," he replied. "To what do I owe this honour?"

"Well," Theo replied as he sat down with a bounce on the nearest sofa, "it just so happens that the last time I saw you, you were getting a bit friendly with that saucy little curly haired witch in the Leaky. So I thought you might want to come for a few bevvies and fill me in?" he suggested, waggling his eyebrows up and down.

Draco sighed and sat down opposite him, sadly shaking his head, recalling the evening that Theo had taken him out after their disastrous lunch with Justin.

Theo noticed his friend's demeanour and immediately balked.

"For the love of Morgana's tits, Malfoy, please don't tell me that you fucked things up?!"

Draco screwed up his eyes and rubbed his hand across his face and stubbly chin.

"I brought her back here, ok?"

"You did?!" Theo barked enthusiastically. He leaned forwards and punched his friend on the shoulder in a congratulatory gesture. "You old snake, you! I knew you still had it in you! So… did it work then? Taking your mind off Granger and all that?"

Draco looked up at the ceiling, taking a deep breath.

"Not exactly, no." he replied.

"What? What do you mean? I mean, last I saw, she was seconds away from jumping on you in the pub. So you're not telling me things didn't continue in the same vein once you got back here?"

Draco stood up and went to get his jacket from the coat stand.

"Well, we came back here and… you know, things were going well, I suppose…"

"How well?" Theo asked, jumping up and walking over to his friend as he pulled on his sleeves.

"_Really_ well," came Draco's reply with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows. "We were in my room, and she was heading… _down there._"

"Ha! I _knew_ it! The minute I saw her I thought '_blowie_' for sure!"

Draco paused with a look of confusion on his face for a moment. Shaking his head, he continued his sorry tale as they left the flat and jogged down the stairs to the apparition point.

"I was just getting close, and you know when you're getting close to shooting your load and you get all these mental images in your head?"

"Sure," Theo replied. "I'm always picturing pornographic scenes of your mum when I come."

Draco froze to the spot, staring at Theo with abject horror.

"For fuck's sake, Theo!"

"What?" he replied with an innocent shrug of his shoulders. "Ah, come on, mate. Just having you on. I haven't been picturing your mum during sex!" he assured Draco with a pat on the back, followed by a barely audible: "Not for a few weeks at least" as Draco continued to lead the way down the final few stairs, oblivious to his friend's mutterings.

"So anyway, I grabbed hold of her hair..."

"Ho ho! A light bit of BDSM eh?"

"Annnd" Draco continued, pointedly making an effort to get to the end of his story without further interruption.

"I may have started to imagine it was Hermione's hair, which made me totally lose control of myself."

"So?" Theo asked, non - plussed. "What did you do? Make her choke or something? 'Cause I'm surprised a little goer like her would've minded…"

"Nope. Worse than that. I accidentally called her Hermione while I was coming down her throat. Twice."

This time it was Theo's turn to freeze on the stairs. Draco turned back to look his friend in the eyes with a guilty expression.

Theo took one look at his friend and promptly burst out laughing.

"Oh I'm glad you find my plight so bloody entertaining!" he complained, turning back and walking away.

"Oh come on, Draco, you've got to admit, that is pretty fucking funny!"

"Not for me it wasn't. She went absolutely mental, Theo! I mean, psycho! She started chucking things at me, and screaming. Naturally, she knew who I was referring to. She went storming out of the flat, but not before she trashed a few of Justin's belongings on the way out. She assumed they were mine, of course."

"Really? Nice one! See? Every rusty cauldron has a silver lining and all that? Look at it like this, mate - you got a blowie and no doubt managed to totally piss Justin off at the same time. Sounds like a successful evening to me."

Draco smiled and shook his head incredulously at his friend who always managed to cheer him up, one way or another. They reached the apparition point and made their way to Diagon Alley for a couple of jars.

Theo and Draco soon met up with Blaise and it didn't take long for the young Malfoy to be happily distracted from his misery by his two friends and their lively banter. The afternoon turned into early evening, and the three were steadily drinking their way down their third pints at Warlocks bar. Draco was starting to feel as though this might develop into something of an all-nighter, when their attention was caught by a particularly raucous group of lads who had just entered.

Draco's heart immediately fell into his dragon hide boots as he registered the all too familiar figure of Justin, surrounded by his trainee-healer friends. Draco recalled the conversation that he had heard earlier between Justin and Hermione as he explained to Theo why Justin wasn't currently out with Hermione for her birthday.

"Oh shit, yes! I forgot about your _brilliant_ romantic picnic idea!" he said sarcastically, before delighting in regaling Blaise with the woeful tale of how Draco had somehow come to Justin's assistance in securing the perfect gift for Hermione.

Blaise gave out a low chuckle.

"Wow, Malfoy. What the hell happened to you? If your younger self could see you now…"

"Yes, yes, alright! Gods, no need to rub it in!" Draco interrupted, not needing to be reminded of his recent failings in all traits Slytherin.

Just then, the trio noticed the approach of a few figures towards their table and all turned their attention in that direction.

"Oh fucking hell," Theo muttered as he saw Justin's approach, taking a hefty swig of his beer and placing it down loudly on the table.

"Oh look!" Justin announced, cheerfully. "If it isn't my little Slytherin roommate and his bum chums! What're you three miscreants up to then?"

Blaise glanced around at Draco and Theo, before answering with his usual bored intonation.

"Oh, you know _Flinchley," _he replied, earning a twitch from Justin's eyelid at the purposeful bastardisation of his name. "We just thought we'd come out for a few drinks, while we plan how resurrect the dark lord, thus returning pureblood order to the world and ensuring all muggle born abominations such as your good self are eradicated from existence."

Justin stood for a moment, mouth agape, glancing nervously between the three boys in disbelief.

"To the dark lord!" Theo announced with a broad grin, raising his glass and taking a large swig.

Draco couldn't help but smirk as Justin slowly realised they were having him on.

"You bloody fools!" he said with a nervous laugh. "That's pretty sick, you know! Good job I've got a sense of humour, eh?"

"Oh, have you really?" Blaise asked with deadpan seriousness. "And how are you getting on with that then?"

"Hey Justin!" called one of his friends from across the pub, as Justin blinked to process Blaise's mockery. "You coming or what?"

"Yeah, I'll be right there. Was just offering to buy Malfoy and his friends a round."

The Slytherins eyed each other with disbelief as Justin's friends sent daggers their way.

"Leave it, mate. They can afford their own bloody drinks!" called Justin's friend.

Justin shrugged his shoulders and walked back over to his friends leaving the three in stunned silence.

"What. An absolute. Ring piece." Theo stated pointedly. "Offering to buy us a drink? As if! Gods, Malfoy, how on earth can you out up with it?"

"I guess I just have to, don't I?" he relied resignedly. "Look, you two, I don't really feel like sticking around here now, and I'm bloody starving. D'you fancy coming with me to that muggle fish and chip shop down the road, before I head home? It's on me - I've got some of their currency in my wallet."

His friends hastily agreed, realising suddenly how the beer had given them an appetite. The three stood and necked the remains of their drinks, before slipping on their coats and heading out to apparate to a safe location near to the muggle chippy that they had frequented often after Theo's recent discovery of it.

Soon enough, the three Slytherins were trudging through the streets back towards The Leaky Cauldron, packets of hot chips in their hands and clumsily eating away with the fiddly little wooden forks provided that they found so amusing.

"I just don't get…" Blaise said between mouthfuls of chips, "…what an intelligent witch such as Granger sees in such a cretinous little turd as Flinchley?"

"Exactly" Theo agreed. "He's always such a complete twat."

"But that's just the problem, isn't it?" Draco suggested, finishing off his last few chips and aiming and throwing the balled up paper into a nearby bin with precision.

"He's not _always_ a twat. Not in front of Hermione at least. Much as it pains me to say it, he treats her well as far as I can tell. Well - apart from a bit of 'wandering eye' that I've noticed at Mungo's. And he's not actually _un_intelligent is he? He got onto the healer training didn't he, so at least he matches her in that respect? Much better than fucking Weasley did anyway."

"Bloody hell, Malfoy, there you go again, sticking up for the dickhead." Theo remarked as he copied Draco's paper throwing antics, but failing miserably to hit the target, having to whip out his wand and levitate the chip wrapper into the bin instead.

Draco rolled his eyes at Theo's observation, before bidding his friends farewell and returning to the flat. He had decided that he didn't really feel much like having an all-nighter after all. His studies earlier, followed by three pints of beer and a belly full of hot chips had left him feeling rather tired, and a quiet night at home seemed much more appealing.

A relaxing evening back at the flat, safe in the knowledge that Justin was unlikely to return home for a few hours was just what Draco needed. He had a long, hot shower and changed into his comfy, green checked pyjamas and a soft t -shirt, before settling down in the living room with his beloved record collection and some music collector magasines that he had picked up from one the muggle record stores that he had visited the day before.

He was totally immersed in an article about a very rare vinyl that was being auctioned next month, when he was disturbed from his escape by the sound of the floo firing up. Jumping up to his feet, he was startled to see Hermione stepping cheerily through and into the lounge.

"Hermione?"

"Hi." she greeted, with a warm smile.

"I … um…. Justin's not here. He's out with his friends from healership."

"Yes I know. I'm just on my way to Ginny's," she explained, placing a small overnight bag on the nearby sofa and gesturing towards it, reminding Draco of her sleepover plans with her friend.

"O…kay?" he replied with uncertainty, still not sure he dared to suppose what she might be doing there.

"Did you… enjoy the rest of your birthday?" he asked.

"Yes thanks. "

She took small step towards him with and looked directly into his eyes, making him gulp and draw in a breath as she neared.

"I actually wanted to call by to say thank you for my birthday gift."

"Oh. Well, you're most welcome," Draco replied. "But you didn't need to do that - I'm certain that you thanked me amply earlier…"

"No," she interjected, "No, not for the record. Although I do love it. I mean…I wanted to thank you for my _other _present."

Draco eyed her with confusion, not understanding her meaning.

"The books? The picnic?" she explained, taking another step towards him as he schooled his face into a carefully practiced neutral expression.

"I'm not sure I follow."

"Oh come on, Draco! The books? _Healing the Unhealable? The Complexity Of The Human Memory?_ I haven't once told Justin about my interest in those books and it just so happens that he gives them to me for my birthday after _you _caught me reading them from _your_ bookshelf that morning all those weeks ago when…" she trailed off, her eyes briefly flickering down his torso for the briefest moments before she continued.

"…you know? The _cushion _incident?"

Draco turned away from her and screwed his face up in frustration. Shit. It was _so_ obvious.

"And the _picnic idea_?" she went on. "I'm guessing that that's courtesy of you too after I told you all about the picnics with my parents?

Draco remained silent, not sure how to respond, but quickly felt the soft touch of a hand around his upper arm, turning him back around to face her.

"It's really, _really_ sweet of you, Draco - helping Justin like that."

"Yeah? Well I didn't do it for Justin." he said mutely, looking down at the floor with embarrassment.

Without him realising what was happening, Hermione went up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek with a soft peck and a whispered "Thank you."

As they drew apart, their eyes met once more with a burning intensity. Draco couldn't help but look hungrily down at her slightly open mouth, taking a deep breath before returning his gaze to her wide, amber orbs.

They stared into each other's eyes intently for a few seconds, their bodies' mere centimetres apart and Hermione's hand still gently holding his arm, before she blinked in realisation and withdrew hurriedly.

"I… I should go. I really need to … um…" she trailed off as she beat her hasty retreat to the door of the flat, a look of embarrassment mingled with confusion written into her beautifully expressive face.

"Bye!" she called out as she exited hurriedly, snapping the door shut behind her.

"Bye" Draco replied to the door which he was now staring at, urging it to open once more and for Hermione to return. He toyed with the idea of running after her and strode urgently over to the door, but stopped abruptly and instead placed his forehead against the cold wooden panel.

Every fibre of his whole being was pulsating with warring emotions. The temptation to grab hold of Hermione and to kiss her just then had been overwhelming and there was an unmistakable connection developing between the two of them. He was left feeling frustrated at desperately wanting her whilst at the same time not wanting to hurt her feelings or ruin their friendship.

"Fucking hell fire!" he muttered bitterly, going over to the window and looking down at the courtyard, watching Hermione disappear promptly from the apparition point out at the front of the student digs. He sighed deeply, turned and sat on the windowsill for a while. His eyes lingered on the nearby bookcase and he relived the tormenting vision of the scantily clad object of his desires leafing through his books, all bare-legged and hair in wild abandon.

He mindlessly rose and shuffled unenthusiastically over to the fridge and took out a bottle of firewhiskey that he kept in there, wrenching the cork off angrily before lifting the cold glass neck to his lips. But, just as the fiery liquid was passing down his throat, he was startled to hear a sound coming from the door. Whirling around with a cough and a splutter, his eyes widened with anticipation.

"Hermione?" Draco whispered hopefully, as the brass handle lowered and the wooden door slowly opened with a gentle creak.


	7. Chapter 7

~seven~

Marching forwards, expecting to see that Hermione had returned, Draco found that his hopes were sadly dashed, as the most unwelcome figure of Justin came bustling in. He had returned much earlier than expected from his night out and, moreover, he was not alone.

Hot on his tails and holding his hand was the blonde haired, trainee nurse healer that Draco had shared ward rounds with a couple of weeks earlier. She was tottering along on her bright red, high-heeled shoes and giggling inanely. Draco stood open mouthed, gaping at the scene unfolding before him.

"Ah. Malfoy. Thought you'd still be out with your mates?" Justin remarked with surprise.

"Yeah? Well I could say the same thing about you." Draco replied, eying the pair coldly.

"Ha-ha! Yes, well…" Justin trailed off as the blonde witch leaned forwards and whispered something in his ear, causing him to swallow thickly and his eyes to widen.

The girl gave Justin a lascivious grin, before stalking around him and away towards the lounge, throwing her blood-red, wool coat on the sofa, to reveal the skin-tight, little black dress that she wore underneath.

Justin puffed out a heavy breath and made off to follow her, but Draco swiftly reached out and grabbed hold of his upper arm, sharply tugging him back.

"Justin, what the fuck are you doing?" Draco demanded.

Justin quickly shrugged Draco's hand off and turned to face him with a bored roll of his eyes.

"Oh come on, Malfoy. When it's handed to you on a plate like _that_," he said gesturing with a nod towards the girl who was now hovering around near the bedroom doors, "it'd be rude not to!"

Draco felt the anger rise within him like a red mist.

"And Hermione?" he asked. "You're seriously doing this? On her _birthday_?"

"Oh relax will you, Malfoy? It's not like I'm going to tell her now, is it?"

Draco stood motionless, the crackle of angry magic licking wildly at his fingertips. The temptation to hex or to simply outright punch Justin in the face was eating him alive, but he just couldn't risk losing everything he had worked so hard for. It seemed he still retained some Slytherin ambition, after all.

"You're a fucking prick, _Flinchley_," he bit out through clenched teeth.

"Oh come off it, Malfoy. Since when did you become _Mr Morals_?" Justin countered. "After everything you've done in the past, you think you can stand there and judge _me_ for something as petty as this?"

"Petty?!"

"Yes. Petty. And don't go getting any ideas about telling Hermione yourself. You want to be careful, Malfoy. Don't think that I don't know that you're only on this healer training on condition of your good behaviour bond. One word from me and you'll be out on your arse, crawling back to mummy and daddy like the whiny little bitch that you are."

Draco closed his eyes and breathed heavily through his nose in an attempt to calm himself down from the dangerous rage that was burning within.

Justin leaned in to Draco, and with a smug smirk whispered, "Now be a good boy, and keep your mouth shut, Malfoy," before he walked off across the lounge, tossing his own jacket onto the sofa and leading his conquest into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

Draco growled loudly and instinctively punched the nearest kitchen cupboard door, realising quickly and with regret, that he wasn't nearly drunk enough for the alcohol to numb the pain of such antics.

"FUCK!" he roared, squeezing and then rubbing his throbbing fist in pain, before snatching up the bottle of firewhiskey and taking another large swig.

At that moment he heard a shrill, feminine laugh coming from Justin's room.

"For fuck's sake!" Draco yelled, before grabbing his wand from the side and throwing up a silencing charm on Justin's room for the umpteenth time.

"Right! That's IT!"

Draco aggressively accio'd his trunk from his room, caring little about the way it collided harshly with the doorframe, leaving a large scratch in the woodwork as it scraped along on its journey into the lounge, thudding heavily to the floor at his feet.

He started to throw in his belongings from the bookshelf in the lounge - his books and of course, his beloved vinyls, pausing every now and then to chug back another comforting swig from his bottle. He decided once and for all that there was no way that he could carry on living the colossal, two-faced arsehole that was Justin Finch-Fletchley.

He quickly made his mind up that he would go back to the manor that night and reluctantly take his parents up on their original offer to organise a flat of his own near to St Mungo's.

He had no doubt that once he was in a calmer frame of mind, he could come up with a cunning way to expose Justin to Hermione, much as it pained him that it might hurt her feelings.

As Draco's trunk was now slowly filling up with his clothes, shoes and other belongings that he had levitated from his room, his bottle of firewhiskey was slowly emptying and he soon found himself to be very drunk. He sat down heavily on the sofa, rubbing his temples, just as the whooshing sound of the floo began to fire up.

Draco turned his head sharply to see who the unannounced visitor was, his mouth quickly hanging open with disbelief. The amber eyes that he was all too familiar with met his once more, as Hermione emerged from the green flames.

He stood up quickly, the room spinning slightly.

"Hi. I'm sorry to intrude again… but I left my overnight bag…" Hermione explained, trailing off as her eyes caught sight of Draco's trunk piled high with his belongings, and the now empty bookshelf by the window.

"Draco? Are you leaving?" she asked with questioning eyes.

He remained still for a moment, staring into her wide eyes intensely. Without further ado, he marched purposefully over to her, not breaking eye contact for a second, took her face in his hands and planted a rather misplaced kiss on her lips.

With a muffled cry of protest, she quickly pushed him off, stepping back away from him warily.

"Draco! What are you doing?!" she cried, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, before remarking, "Gods, you _reek_ of booze!"

Draco stuttered in realisation, "I… I just…"

"I didn't come back here for _that_! I wouldn't do that to Justin!"

Draco huffed out a sarcastic laugh.

"Oh yes. Poor little Justin," he muttered before dropping back down heavily onto the sofa.

Hermione's eyes were full of hurt and confusion as she took in Draco's moody demeanour. Her eyes ranged over him before eventually catching sight of something at Draco's side.

She walked over and picked it up. It was Justin's jacket that had until that moment, been lying still-strewn across the sofa from earlier. Draco looked from the jacket to Hermione's face with wide eyes.

"Is Justin here?" she asked quietly as her attention was then caught by the sight of something else that had been hidden beneath Justin's jacket.

With a scowl, she dropped Justin's jacket to the floor and picked up the bright red wool coat, holding it at arm's length as though it gave off a particularly offensive odour. She looked over at Draco with raised eyebrows.

Draco opened his mouth as though to say something but swiftly closed it again as Hermione strode assertively over to Justin's room, throwing the door wide open and disappearing inside the silenced quarters. He stood up again, turning to face the open doorway, but he couldn't hear or see anything apart from some angrily moving shadows on the wall within.

After a few moments, Hermione came storming back through the door, her face bright red and angry with a slight shine of tears in her eyes. Draco felt his heart die a little inside. As she passed through the silencing ward, her loud and upset voice suddenly broke through.

"…never been made to feel so bloody stupid in all my life!"

Justin soon came running after her, stark naked. Clocking Draco, he quickly grabbed a cushion from the nearby sofa to hide his manhood.

"Hermione, wait! It was just a silly mistake, ok? I… I got drunk, I didn't know what I was doing!" he protested with pathetic desperation. "Hey - maybe she spiked my drink?!"

"Oh for Godric's sake, Justin, don't insult my intelligence!"

She grabbed her overnight bag and turned sharply to face him.

"I'm leaving."

Just then, her eyes travelled down his body and landed on the cushion he was holding, and a triumphant smirk grew across her face.

"And Justin?" she added, walking towards him, pursing her lips.

"What?" he asked meekly, his cheeks reddening.

"Nice choice of cushion. It really, _really_ suits you…"

Justin looked quickly down with confusion, and to his horror, realised he had picked up one of Theo's funny cushions, that just happened to say "TINY DICK" in large, pink letters.

"…As does your name, _Just_ \- IN," she stated, staring coldly into his eyes.

Draco couldn't help but give a snort of amusement at Hermione's savagery, and watched with glee as Justin fumbled to turn the cushion the other way, his face turning more and more red with embarrassment.

Hermione then made her way to the floo, but suddenly stopped abruptly, pausing for a few seconds at the fireplace. She dropped her bag, turned on her heels and marched purposefully up to Draco, reaching up and taking his face in her hands in a direct imitation of his earlier actions. Pulling him down towards her, she kissed him passionately and with wild abandon.

Draco froze momentarily in shock, before moaning quietly into her mouth and taking hold of her waist firmly, pulling her body towards his.

Then no sooner said than done, she broke the kiss off with a panting breath, declaring, "That felt good," before grabbing her bag again and disappearing in a rage of green flames.

Draco and Justin stood frozen in place, staring at the dying green light of the fireplace, as they both processed everything that had just happened.

It was Justin who broke the silence first.

"Always knew she was a slag," he sneered with an uncaring shrug of his shoulders, turning away from Draco to return to his bedroom.

He didn't get very far before he felt a sharp hex hit him from behind. He turned to look at Draco with horror, before letting out a high pitched shriek as he registered a most unpleasant and painful sensation in his already deflated and meagre manhood. Looking down, Justin watched with dismay as it began to rapidly shrink and shrivel down to the size of an undersized flobberworm larvae. He clutched and pulled at it desperately and hopelessly as it got smaller and smaller.

"Arrrrrgh! What the hell have you done?!" he bellowed, falling to his knees in his still-naked state.

Ignoring Justin's cries, Draco calmly went to collect his own coat, shutting the lid of his trunk and shrinking it down to fit inside his pocket.

"What are you playing at?!" You… you can't leave me like this!" Justin demanded, his face contorted in agony.

"Fuck you, you absolute tosser," Draco stated coldly, before apparating away to the manor, willingly taking the risk of a drink-induced splinching, as he left Justin writhing and moaning pathetically on the lounge floor.


	8. Chapter 8

**~eight~**

Draco stood in his old bedroom at the manor, checking his reflection in the long mirror of his heavily polished mahogany armoire and adjusting his bowtie. It had been a long time since he had worn dress robes and he craned his neck from side to side as he fingered his collar to stretch it slightly around his neck. He looked at his reflection and took in the familiar figure of the old Draco Malfoy, heir to the Malfoy fortune, pristinely dressed and oozing aristocratic confidence. It was a reflection that Draco hadn't seen in quite some time. Six months had already passed since that fateful evening back at the flat and Draco's life had dramatically changed since then.

He had of course, found himself in huge trouble at St Mungo's for his actions that night. He had been immediately called into Dean Sinclair's office on the Monday morning. His mother had insisted on accompanying him, and he had been far from surprised to see Justin's father sitting at the far end of the table when they had arrived, having already shared the news of the weekend's events. Justin had predictably not been in attendance, as he was occupying a bed on the ward for indeterminably powerful hexes and curses, five floors below.

Draco had noted how the Dr Sinclair had seemingly tried to give Draco the benefit of the doubt, ensuring that he had ample opportunity to give his own side of the story. But it just so happened, that Draco's own, honest version of the story wasn't really that dissimilar to the account given by Justin, apart from the small detail that the attack wasn't entirely _unprovoked_, as Justin had put it in his statement. Draco explained what had caused him to act so impulsively, stating how Justin had mistreated Hermione and how his derogatory name calling had spiked his anger.

Narcissa had then spoke up for her son, using all her charms and calm articulation to urge the Dean to empathise with Draco and his impulsive reaction to protect the honour of his friend. She reminded him how Draco had not put a single foot out of line until that point and that his grades were of the highest calibre.

Justin's father had harrumphed loudly at this point, insisting this was 'utter poppycock' and demanding justice be served. He reminded the Dean that he and his wife had never wanted their son to be accommodated with this war criminal in the first place, and that the hospital should have known something like this would happen.

The Dean had removed his spectacles and rubbed the bridge of his nose in anguish as he had dealt out the inevitable outcome. He spoke with sympathy for Draco and acknowledged he had been an exemplary student (again with further snorts of derision from Mr Fletchley), but nevertheless had to conclude that as noble as Draco's actions seemed, he had attacked a fellow student and left him with life altering, albeit temporary consequences and had completely broken the bonds of good behaviour on which his place on the healership course had been made. And so it was with grave disappointment that Dean Sinclair had excluded Draco with immediate effect.

Draco had accepted his fate calmly, and had immediately turned his attentions to wider interests. It turned out that being kicked off the healer training course had given him the push he needed to pursue his very real but albeit somewhat risky dream, and he had very recently opened "Vinyl Resting Place" - Diagon Alley's first music store - specialising in muggle music and vinyl records in particular.

He had made lots of contacts and had found a way to magically adapt the muggle electronics so that they would work magically and within magical bounds. The ability for the music to be taken into Hogwarts had resulted in his small business rapidly becoming a big hit with the students who more and more often enjoyed and eclectic mix of muggle pop culture with more traditional wizarding ones.

Draco quickly realised that most teenagers were quick to overlook his past if it meant them keeping up with the latest school trend, and this had caused him to already begin thinking of expanding his business to a premises in Hogsmeade to capture his main customer base more directly.

He had also made sure his shop included a small lounge area where customers could sit and listen to their music and actively encouraged them to 'try before you buy'. Draco openly poached Loxey from his parents' employ to serve a small selection of hot and cold drinks, and the little elf ensured that there was always an ample supply of cakes, biscuits and pastries to serve, which were proving incredibly popular.

Theo and Blaise could often be found sitting in the corner, munching biscuits and listening to music through the large muggle headphones that Draco provided. He found it most amusing to see them sitting there, bobbing their heads up and down to the music, as though it was the most normal thing in the world!

"Wow, Zabini. What the hell happened to you? If your younger self could see you now…" he taunted his friend with his own words, much to his chagrin.

His shop in Diagon Alley had a simple dwelling upstairs which suited Draco perfectly. The easy access into muggle London via The Leaky Cauldron gave him easy means to meet up with suppliers and to keep up to date with the music scene beyond the magical world, and he found himself become more and more confident in slipping into 'muggle mode' when moving from one world to the next.

In the last six months, Draco had kept a close eye on the Daily Prophet, as he was sure that Justin and his family would go selling their story of Justin's plight at the hands of the evil ex-death eater to supplement the already large sum of compensation that Draco had been ordered to pay to the family and towards the healing costs.

The story never surfaced however, and Draco came to learn that Justin had vehemently wanted to avoid the nature of his predicament becoming publicly known, especially as the effects of the hex itself had lasted for _twelve weeks_ and into the new year, such was the anger with which Draco had administered it. Theo had gleefully reminded Draco of this fact when Draco had invited him over to the manor for Boxing Night dinner.

"Ah yes. That reminds me. I _do_ wonder how old Flinchley's getting along now?" Theo had asked with faux concern, just after Loxey had levitated a platter of sizzling, miniature pigs in blankets on to the Christmas table.

Theo had speared one of the dainty sausages with his fork and looked around the table at the Malfoys with a wicked grin on his face causing Draco to burst into uncontrollable laughter, and he was sure he had seen a glimmer of amusement fly across his father's face as his mother had coughed uncontrollably into her napkin.

Draco had been most concerned that he had not seen or heard from Hermione at all after the incident. His owls remained not responded to, and he was longing to see her and to check that she was ok and had forgiven him for his ungentlemanly behaviour that night. He soon learnt that upon breaking up with Justin, she had taken the Ministry up on an offer to go and work abroad on a muggle relations project in France for a few months. It gave him some hope that at least she wasn't purposefully avoiding him due to feeling uncomfortable about that kiss.

And - _bloody hell_, what a kiss it had been! Draco had often found himself reliving how amazing Hermione Granger had felt and tasted as she had pressed herself up against him that night. He may have been drunk, but he could remember that part of the evening as clear as though it had happened that day. The thought of it had got him through many a shower or lonesome evening back at his new flat and he could feel the stirring effects it had on him as he thought about her again as he was readying himself for his mother's spring gala that evening.

Hermione was going to be there that night of course, having assisted his mother so graciously. Draco was anxious about just how awkward their first encounter was going to be, given the circumstance of their last meeting and the very fact that the thought of her alone lately, left him in a most unbecoming state of excitement.

Adjusting himself subtly and casting a cooling charm to keep his stirring loins in check, Draco made his way through the manor to join his parents who were already in position and greeting their guests at the entrance of the grand, cream marquee that had been set up in the manor's grounds.

The garden had been bedecked with little jars of glittering light charms, that floated magically above the flower beds that were full of Spring blooms, and the fountains were lit in way that made them sparkle and glimmer as the water cascaded down with a cheerful splash.

There was a hint of Spring warmth in the air and music was drifting outside from a string quartet inside the tent. Draco, sensing that it was going to be a rather special night, braced himself for the evening ahead, full of anticipation at reconnecting with Hermione again after such a long time spent apart.


	9. Chapter 9

**~nine~**

It didn't take Draco long to spot Hermione after he entered the cosily lit marquee on the manor grounds. Even though his view of her was partially blocked by a large group of people, he found it very easy to identify her glossy, bouncy hair that she had put partially up with what looked like a beautifully ornate hair comb, leaving a cascade of soft curls down her back. He relished the opportunity to take in her elegant appearance, catching glimpses of her outfit through the occasional gaps that opened up in the crowds.

Her dress was an elegant midnight blue that sparkled with delicate crystals with every move she made. As she turned away from him, he caught a glimpse of the low back of her dress, revealing an expanse of her perfect, smooth skin, covered part-way up by a band of the sparkling blue fabric around her middle and two straps that came over her shoulders to join it in the middle. She completely took his breath away and Draco wondered how on earth he would manage to maintain his composure, when the inevitable opportunity to talk to her would arise later.

He continued to discretely observe Hermione throughout the early part of the evening as he did his duty to his mother by mingling politely with her guests. He used his well-practised aristocratic charms to delight them with sincere compliments and by showing knowledgeable interest in their affairs.

Hermione, Draco noticed, was doing her own fair share of mingling but he also hadn't failed to notice that she never ventured far from a rather tall and muscular looking man, with whom she was laughing rather animatedly. Draco eventually recognised the man as a French dignitary from the Ministere des Affaires Magiques, named Luc Bonaccord.

It was with a mixture of disappointment and jealously that he watched her link his arm as the couple made their way through crowds and out view. Draco surmised that she must have met him and struck up a relationship with him during her recent secondment to the French ministry, and he could hardly blame her for wanting to move on after the whole debacle with Justin.

The early evening consisted of an exquisite dinner accompanied of course by the talented string quartet. This was then followed by some more entertainment - in the form of a fun raffle to raise funds for St Mungo's, where a varied selection of prizes from both the muggle and wizarding realms were up for grabs. The event was a huge success and Draco took great pleasure in watching his father's face turn various shades of puce as he was declared the successful recipient of a season ticket for a muggle football team called Manchester United. The other guests found it equally as amusing and cheered and laughed as Lucius marched to the front of the marquee to collect his tickets.

As the raffle has drawn to a close Draco, was loitering by the bar and taking in the hustle and bustle as guests made way for the dance floor area to be cleared. Taking a sip of his firewhisky, he sensed the approach of some people in his peripheral vision and was taken by surprise to see Potter and The Weaselette making their way purposefully towards him.

"Malfoy," came Potter's curt greeting.

"Potter."

"I must say, your mum's done a terrific job tonight," Potter remarked with a small smile.

"Thank you," Draco replied. "I'll be sure to pass on your compliments. "Of course… she had quite some help from Granger, you know?"

"Yes, she told us," Ginny acknowledged with an enthusiastic nod. "Although, those floating lights in the garden are something of a dead giveaway of Hermione's involvement. They're something of a 'Granger speciality.'

"Oh?" Draco said with interest. "Well they're certainly a nice touch."

"You know; our Hermione is rather taken with your mother." Ginny continued, looking openly into Draco's eyes. He eyed her carefully in response, looking for a sign of sarcasm but finding none.

"Really? Well, I suppose they did seem to get on rather well. I noticed when I happened to call that afternoon when they met here to plan the evening."

"Yeah, we know," Potter returned with an oddly warm smile. Draco felt uncomfortable under Potter's green-eyed gaze but determinedly maintained his calm composure.

"Hermione told us how you helped _her_ too, that afternoon."

Draco looked up sharply, looking from Potter to his companion and back again with surprise.

"Oh," he replied with a small cough. "Well, you could hardly blame her for finding it rather… _unnerving_, coming back to this place."

Draco looked down at the floor momentarily, feeling more and more uncomfortable at the direction in which their conversation had headed. As he looked up again he was shocked to see that at that moment, Potter had thrust out his hand towards him with expectant eyes.

Draco stared at the outstretched hand for a moment, raising his eyebrows questioningly, before grasping Potters' hand firmly in his own.

"Thanks for looking out for her, Malfoy," Potter stated genuinely. "And I don't just mean on that day here at the Manor."

Draco gave Potters hand a brief shake, withdrew and looked openly from Potter to the Weaselette and back again.

"I'm not sure I follow…"

"Look, we know what you did to Justin, Malfoy, and quite frankly we think it was bloody brilliant!" Ginny gushed with a mischievous grin.

"Bloody brilliant doesn't even come close!" came another familiar voice from behind him.

Draco rolled his eyes playfully and turned to see that the other member of the golden trio had of course turned up to join them. He was carrying a tray of after dinner mints that he must have somehow liberated from an unsuspecting house elf.

"Honestly, we all secretly disliked him," Ron continued between mouthfuls of the dark chocolate pieces, "Even at school, I thought he was a pompous creep. Second only to you really, Malfoy."

"Thanks." Draco replied curtly.

"Oh, don't get me wrong," Weasley continued unabashed, "You were a colossal git at school, Malfoy, but I can tell you've changed. A _lot_."

Draco puffed out a breath and nodded indifferently, not quite sure how to respond. He felt like he was having some weird hallucination, standing in the manor's grounds having a friendly chat with the three Gryffindors, who appeared to be positively appraising him.

His eyes travelled across the tent to Hermione once more. She was now on the dance floor with the tall Parisian, clearly enjoying herself now that the band had struck up a lively song.

"It looks like she's managed to get over Justin, then?" Draco commented, nodding in Hermione's direction. "They look very happy together."

The three Gryffindors followed his line of vison with confused expressions.

"You're joking aren't you?" came Ron's chortling reply.

"Hermione and Luc?!" said Ginny. "Don't be daft, Malfoy!"

"She's trying to set him up with her work colleague - Ryan Shacklebolt, you know, Kingsley's nephew? Was a few years above us at Hogwarts?" Potter explained.

"You mean…?"

"He's gay, Malfoy!" said Ginny, incredulous at Draco's ignorance. "I mean, just look at those dance moves! Camp as a row of tents, but a million times more fabulous!"

Draco watched intently as, as though on cue, Ryan Shacklebolt, who Draco now recognised vaguely from school, approached the pair in the dance floor. Hermione began clearly introducing them to each other and then the three of them departed to the side to talk more closely.

Hermione appeared to then make her excuses to leave the pair together before suddenly looking around for her friends. When she saw them standing with Draco, her face couldn't disguise her surprise.

Ginny Weasley waved her over enthusiastically, and Draco could have sworn he saw he take a deep breath and mutter something towards the heavens before skirting around the edge of the dance floor towards them, her dress twinkling most alluringly as she moved their way.

"Mission accomplished?" Ginny asked with a waggle of her eyebrows.

"Um, well yes, I think so," Hermione replied, looking back over at the two men who were now making their way over to a quiet corner of the tent. Her eyes then slowly came back to the group and settled on Draco himself.

"Hello Draco" she said quietly with a small smile. "How are you?"

"Very well, thank you, Hermione," he replied, intently staring into her eyes. "I must say, you look very beautiful this evening."

"Thanks," Hermione said, smoothing invisible wrinkles out of her dress self-consciously.

Hermione coloured with a blush of rose petals, while Ginny, with a small smirk, ushered Potter and her brother away.

"We're just going to get some drinks," she trailed off as they shuffled away to the other end of the bar.

"I hope your mum is happy with how everything is going?" Hermione asked with genuine interest.

"Yes! She definitely is. And she's singing your praises to everyone here, for all your help."

"Oh that's so sweet of her!" Hermione chimed, "But I was just doing my job really." 

"Hermione, you and I both know that it means much more than that."

An awkward silence fell over them as they watched the couples and groups dancing happily together in front of them. After a few more seconds of painful silence, they both hurriedly blurted out in unison -

"I'm so sorry for what happened…"

They stared at each other in surprise and it was Draco that was the first to break the silence.

"Wait, _you're_ sorry?" he asked with confusion. "Hermione, have you lost your mind? You do remember that I made a complete arse of myself that night, don't you? I acted totally inappropriately given the circumstances. I should have just told you about Justin straight away."

"Yes, well I found out in the end didn't I?" Hermione replied. "I assumed that he had been carrying on with other girls for a while when I discovered him. I just thought you might have told me sooner."

Draco stared at her, shaking his head. "No, no, no, you've got it all wrong. I only found out about Justin about an hour before you did, when he brought that bimbo home. That's why I was packing my things - I couldn't put up with that behaviour happening right under my nose. Justin threatened to have me kicked off the healer programme if I told you, but I was determined that I'd find a way to let you know what he was really like."

He smiled sadly at Hermione as he added; "You just seemed so happy with him. I wasn't sure how to let you down gently."

Hermione's eyes looked upwards towards the twinkling roof of the marquee and she sighed deeply.

"I suppose I was happy in a way, at first," she admitted. "I did appreciate being treated to all those fancy nights out in the beginning, as shallow as that sounds. But… things were starting to feel a bit tired, you know? And then he surprised me with that birthday gift. But I soon realised who was actually behind that idea, didn't I?"

Hermione caught Draco's eye as she said the words, but he looked away quickly. He still felt embarrassed that the gift idea had been so obviously attributable to himself.

"I… I gather that you know what happened to Justin after you left that night?" Draco asked tentatively.

Hermione pursed her lips, stifling the grin that inevitably crept across her mouth, before she burst out into peals of loud laughter. Several of the gala guests that were standing nearby, looked around at the pair before whispering to each other.

"Yes! Yes, I do!" she cried, resting her hand on his upper arm as her laughter slowly abated and she regained some composure. Draco couldn't help but smile at her natural beauty as she laughed and wiped a small tear away from the corner of her eye with a contented sigh.

She gave another short chuckle and then a wistfully sigh. "Oh Draco, to think that you ended up losing your healership for it. I'm so sorry for that."

He shook his head, still smiling broadly at her, brushing off her apology, casually.

"It was rather unfortunate admittedly, I suppose. But Gods, Hermione, I can't begin to tell you how good it felt to see that prick hopping around the flat, shrieking like a banshee and clutching at his non-existent nut sack!"

The pair laughed again in unison, before Draco continued.

"Besides, it's all worked out well in the end."

Hermione's laughter died down as she realised what Draco was referring to.

"Ah yes! Your new business venture! I hear it's going well?"

"Really well, thank you, Hermione. You must call in if you're passing by."

Hermione's eyes sparkled with interest. "I'd love that. Thanks Draco."

They looked deeply into each other's eyes once more, smiling affectionately, the silence between them suddenly no longer feeling awkward as it had done before. Draco was strongly reminded of that evening in Warlocks all those months before, when they had fallen into such easy and relaxed conversation.

Draco absorbed everything that they had just spoken of before a question suddenly occurred to him.

"So…. why exactly were _you _apologising to me just now, for what happened that night?"

Hermione blushed and looked nervously down at the floor.

"Oh. Well, I wanted to say sorry, for kissing you."

Draco looked at her with furrowed brow and she registered his confusion.

"I kissed you that night out of spite and anger. I did it to get a rise out of Justin and I shouldn't have done that Draco. It… It was truly wrong of me to use you like that and to take advantage of you, knowing full well what a drunken state you were in."

Draco blinked a couple of times as his mind processed what Hermione had just admitted.

No matter how glorious that kiss had felt to him that night, it was now perfectly clear that she had simply wanted to get back at Justin, and any passion or feeling that he had thought he had felt from her was simply attributable to the urgency of her need for revenge.

"You stupid idiot," he thought to himself, bitterly.

Taking a deep breath and getting his emotions in check, Draco turned back to Hermione with a smile that belied his inner turmoil.

"It's fine, Granger, honestly. Think nothing of it."

"But…" she countered before Draco instantly cut her off.

"No, no, honestly, it's fine! Look, I was totally drunk that night. I mean, I had no self-control over what I was doing, and I did some really, _really_ regrettable things that night myself."

This time it seemed it was Hermione's turn to blink as she processed his words.

"Oh. Okay," she relied quietly with a wan smile. "So… you were totally drunk, and I…"

"…needed to get back at Justin?" Draco offered, finishing her sentence for her.

"Yes." she admitted quietly. "So I guess we were both acting irrationally that night, and we should… I don't know? Forget about it and… move on?"

Draco took another deep breath to steel himself.

"Yes. Yes, I think that would be wise, don't you?" he asked with a tone of indifference.

Hermione nodded affirmatively, her lips pressed together in an expression of seriousness.

"Great!" Draco remarked with finality. "Now, do excuse me, Granger. I have to go and help mother with seeing off some guests. It's been lovely to catch up with you."

"Of course," she replied with her own smile of indifference mimicking his own.

He gave her a curt nod, turned on his heel and walked swiftly away, making a hasty retreat out of the marquee and back towards the manor. His feet crunched angrily along the pebbled pathways in the garden as he sought refuge from his raging emotions and bitter disappointment at how an evening that had been laced with so much hope and expectation, could have tuned out so abysmally.


	10. Chapter 10

**~ten~**

Business was booming at Vinyl Resting Place. It had only been open a mere nine months, and yet the small shop had a steady stream of custom on a daily basis. Draco had found himself to have been nominated for several wizarding business awards. Even his father had to reluctantly admit that his son had secured a very successful income for himself, although he was far from approving of his method.

It was a Saturday afternoon in July and Theodore Nott found himself perched on a seat behind the counter in the shop, flicking through a muggle music magazine with curiosity, as the sound of a new muggle band called Coldplay played quietly in the background. Even though he preferred older muggle music, Draco always made a point of playing more recent findings on weekends in order to attract his younger clientele.

Just then, Draco came into the shop from the doorway at the back that led up to his flat. He was putting on his suit jacket and dusting off the shoulders. "Check you out, Mr Suity-Man," Theo remarked at his friend's unusually smart appearance. "Where are you off to that you so desperately needed me to mind the shop for you this afternoon? Another date with this mystery woman you've been seeing is it?"

"Nope. Just a little business meeting of sorts. Thanks for stepping in at such short notice, Theo."

"Yeah, well, how about this: I promise not to let the shop burn down if you promise to fill me in on your love life, later?"

"Gods, Theo. Sometimes I wonder if you're actually a thirteen-year-old girl in disguise, the way you go on."

"Oh come on, Drakey-poos!" he sang out with a camp wink of his eye, using the nickname that teenage Pansy Parkinson had always used for Draco in school, knowing that he had always found it utterly irritating.

"Dickhead," Draco remarked blankly as he went rummaging behind the counter eventually pulling out his smart, leather briefcase.

"Look, there's nothing wrong with me showing an interest is there?" Theo commented. "You've been seeing her for ages now, so things must be going in the right direction? Just don't know why you need to be so secretive about it."

Draco emerged from behind the counter, looking ready to leave. He sighed and placed the briefcase down on the counter top.

"Things_ are_ going well, I guess. We went out to dinner last night and we're going over to the manor together tomorrow for a luncheon with my parents."

"Meeting the parents eh? Can't be bad."

"Well… yes and no. They've already met. Look - I promise I'll fill you in later, but I've got to go, Theo. This meeting is far too important for me to be late and I really want to make a good impression. See you in a bit?" Draco asked as he grabbed his case and made his way upstairs to the floo in his private quarters.

"Yeah, ok. See you later."

Theo had done a few stints of minding the shop for Draco in the last couple of months. Draco had been to check out a business property that had become vacant in Hogsmeade recently and it was looking more and more likely that his music empire was soon to begin expending. Theo naturally assumed that Draco's business venture this afternoon was something to do with that, as he made himself comfortable with a coffee and a slice of Loxey's vanilla sponge from the small cake display in the corner by the refreshments counter.

Loxey would normally have been there to step in, but he had apparently been summoned back to the manor that week to help with more of Narcissa's renovations. The little house elf was in high demand between Draco and his parents, but it made him extremely happy to be so needed and the family made sure that he was amply compensated through his wages.

After a weekend rush of shoppers in the early afternoon, custom had settled down and Theo was wandering around the shop displays, magically rearranging the records with his wand, after they had been moved about by customers as they had flicked through the different collections. He made his way back over to the counter to resume reading the magasine that he had been steadily making his way through earlier.

After a while, the little shop bell above the door tinkled merrily and Theo looked up with surprise to see the vaguely familiar face of Astoria Greengrass approaching. Blaize and Daphne Greengrass had been an item at school, and Theo remembered her being close to her younger sister who could often be seen hanging around back in the Slytherin common room.

Astoria was carrying two very large boutique shopping bags that were draped over the crook of her arm as she carefully tugged at the fingers of her dragon-hide gloves to remove them. Her fancy robes made her look very out of place in the muggle music store.

"Oh. Hello." she remarked with surprise. "You work here do you? I was just passing and thought I'd pop in to finally see the place for myself. Please could you tell Draco that I'm here? My name is Astoria Greengrass".

Theo smirked at the realisation that Astoria had not recognised who he was. Weighing up the situation in his mind, he decided with Slytherin calculation that it might be fruitful to not reveal himself right away.

"Afraid not," Theo replied, jumping down from the counter stool and walking around to meet his unexpected visitor.

"The boss has gone off to some business meeting or other. Asked me to keep an eye on things here for a few hours."

"Oh?" Astoria replied with a puzzled expression. "He never mentioned anything about that last night."

Theo blinked and processed Astoria's comments for a few seconds as she looked around the shop with a look of mild distaste.

"So… you and Draco… are together?"

"Hmm?" she murmured still taking in her surroundings, before eventually coming back to her senses. "Oh! Yes. We've actually been dating for a while now. Draco's father, Lucius, did a bit of matchmaking and we've been getting rather close."

Theo was rather taken aback by this revelation. Draco had certainly been keeping a lot of his cards close to his chest just recently, what with the mystery meeting this afternoon, and now the news that it was the younger Greengrass sister that he was dating on the sly!

"Oh really?" Theo asked with innocent eyes.

"Yes. Although my father wasn't overly keen on the idea at first, especially given this weird little fad business that Draco's got going on at the moment," she said with an indifferent waft of her hand.

Theo frowned momentarily at Astoria's seeming discredit of Draco's hard earned success.

"So… you think all this," he gestured with wide exaggerated arm movements towards the shop's interior, "…is just a fad?"

Astoria laughed with a girlish tinkle "Well, yes! What else could it be? I don't know if you know this, but he suffered the terrible shame of failing healership training at St Mungo's last year."

"Did he really?" Theo asked with fake interest, leaning in towards Astoria conspiratorially.

"Oh yes. It was all kept quite hush-hush. He was bound to want to find a temporary diversion after that, but I mean honestly, _muggle music_? Draco Malfoy? It's just a whim."

"Well from what I've seen of him _as my boss_, I think this means much more to him that that."

She laughed again with an incredulous grimace.

"Well I expect _you_ would hope that's true so you can keep your little job. But you see, you only know him as your boss. I know all about his upbringing, and it's only a matter of time before he leaves all this… whatever this is, behind in pursuit of something more fitting to a pureblood heir. Especially if he has a wife and family to support."

Theo nearly choked on his own breath at her words.

"Wife and family?"

"Of course. That was his father's intention with the match in the first place, silly," she explained, whilst effortlessly removing a small compact mirror to check her hair and makeup. "Lucius Malfoy - Draco's father, has managed to persuade my father to have a position open up in our family business for Draco. It will be much more becoming for him than this. If I were you… erm…"

"Theodore." he confirmed, coldly.

"…_Theodore_," she continued, still not recognising Theo or his name, "I'd start looking for another job. Something with much more… _long term_ potential, perhaps?"

"Sneaky bastards," Theo muttered under his breath with a scowl.

"Hmm?" came Astoria's vague response as she closed her mirror with a snap and slid it away into her handbag.

"Oh, nothing. Just that… he's not going to be back for ages. Perhaps…" Theo trailed off as he looked around at the well-worn but super comfy sofas that were arranged nearby with a smirk.

"...perhaps you'd like to make yourself comfortable here for a while and listen to some of Draco's music?"

Theo waited for the negative response that he was certain would come. He didn't have to wait long as Astoria's eyes glanced icily over the rustic upholstery with an upturned nose.

"Erm… well, that would be… pleasant. But I do think I ought to be getting along now," she hurriedly replied as she began to put her gloves back on again.

"Do make sure that you tell Draco that I called!" she called out as she made her way to the shop's entrance.

"Oh, don't worry sweetheart. I certainly will."

An hour or so later, Draco finally returned via his floo and came bouncing down the stairs and into the rear of the shop. He gave Theo a jovial shove, nearly sending him flying off his stool.

"Well that. Went. Brilliantly!" he announced, making his way over to the sofas in the shop and bouncing down into a seat happily.

Theo came round to join him, sitting in a comfy armchair opposite.

"What did?"

Draco opened his briefcase and took out a thick manuscript and dropped it confidently on the low coffee table in front of them. Theo leaned forwards to take a closer look.

"_Powerful Memory Loss & Its Safe & Effective Restoration by Abraxas Malafide_?" he read aloud, nonplussed. "I don't get it?"

"That, my friend, is my independent study. You know? The one I began writing during my healership training?"

Theo now picked up the heavy tome and flicked through it, getting a sense of its size. He looked up at Draco with surprise.

"I _finished_ it, Theo! Draco exclaimed with pride. "And that's not the end of it. I've just been to a very successful presentation with a certain Altrixa McConnell and her team from the European Journal of Magi-Medical Research. They've agreed to publish it Theo! They said that the potion that I have patented was flawless in its theoretical basis and that the case I made for its application was very convincing. It could be the breakthrough piece of research this decade! Can you believe it? It could really have a massive impact in the healing field!"

Theo sat in stunned silence looking from the manuscript and back to his friend several times with disbelief.

"Draco, are you seriously telling me, that in the last nine months since you got kicked off your healership course, that not only have you gone through the process of buying a property and setting up a very successful business, but that you've also been continuing your studies by yourself and have patented a healing potion on the side?!"

Draco let out a short laugh down his nose and nodded with a shrug of his shoulders, as if what he had done was the most natural thing in the world.

"Well...yeah." he replied.

Theo blew out a long breath as he continued to process his friend's news. "Morgana's tits, Draco. You're fucking _nuts_, man!" He placed his friend's manuscript down on the table gently with a shake of his head.

"It was important to me, Theo."

"Clearly. And also important to someone else, huh?" Theo ventured with a knowing glance and raised eyebrows.

Draco eyed him back with an unscrupulous deadpan expression, before relenting with a sigh.

"Alright, alright. Maybe it had a lot to do with _her_ at first…"

"So why keep torturing yourself with this after you said she'd made it perfectly clear to you that she wasn't interested in you at your mum's gala night?"

"Because it isn't just about me is it Theo? I knew I was onto something big with this potion, back when I was still at St Mungo's and living with Flinchley The Micro-manhood. I knew this thing could make a real difference in the field of memory loss and yes, that's a big deal for… _Hermione_. But Gods, Theo! There have been so many people affected by this from the war, many as a result of being tortured by my own fucking flesh and blood! I couldn't just walk away and leave it!"

Theo let out a low whistle of approval. He hadn't failed to notice the pained expression on his friend's face at having to mention Granger's name or the way his eyes gazed skywards as he said it as though warring some big emotions inside.

"Fuck me," he stated quietly. "I mean, you're mental - doing all this. I don't know how you haven't died of exhaustion! But… I admire you, mate. And … I'm really fucking proud of you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks, Theo. That means a lot to me." Draco replied quietly as they smiled amicably at each other.

Theo blinked suddenly and came to his senses. "But, hang on. I've got some questions for you. Who the fuck is this Malafide wanker that's taking all the credit for your hard work?"

"Isn't it obvious? The paper won't get half the attention that it deserves with _my_ name plastered all over it will it? This way it will be much more likely to be picked up by healers in the field. And one of McConnell's team said that there's a good chance that they could help me to get an apothecary manufacturer on board for the wide scale production of my potion, once final testing is passed. That's less likely to happen with the name 'Malfoy' emblazoned all over it, isn't it?"

"Hmph. If you say so," Theo muttered. "Seems really unfair to me. And anyway man of mystery; next question. You've had a _visitor _while you were off schmoozing with the medical people."

"Oh?"

"Don't 'Oh' me, you sly snake! You've been knobbing Astoria fucking Greengrass haven't you?"

Draco's eyes widened at Theo's revelation.

"Astoria came here?"

"Yes she fucking well came here. So why have you been keeping that so quiet?"

Draco stood up from the sofa and began collecting the mugs that had accumulated on the coffee table that afternoon, carrying them over to the counter.

"Look, I don't know why, ok? But I guess that I had such a bad time getting over… Granger, that I didn't want to go rushing in and announcing any sort of relationship too quickly. It was father that set us up and I just kind of went along with it to keep him quiet. You know what pureblood parents can be like when it comes to getting their heirs all settled down?"

"And now? Are you still just going along with it, or are you thinking this thing might become serious with her and that you're ready to go all… _public_ then?"

"Well, I wasn't at first. But recently I've been thinking that I want to make a go of things with her. I really like her, Theo. She's a nice girl, and I care about her…"

"Nice in bed?" Theo interrupted, flashing his eyebrows as his friend returned to the sofas.

"Theo!"

"What?! Valid question if you ask me."

"She's… fine… I mean… no, she's good...ARRRGH! Theo! I am NOT having this discussion with you right now! I'm very happy with Astoria. She provided me with a very welcome distraction from a number of trialling aspects of my life back when we first began dating, but now it's more than that."

"You mean, she helped you take your mind off Granger?"

"Yes. At first there was that factor. Is that such a bad thing?"

"No! No. I mean, you were moping around like a love sick puppy for weeks after the whole gala incident. You didn't eat, you hardly drank, you never left the flat or the shop. I honestly thought you were going to starve yourself into oblivion."

"Yes well I was immersing myself in my study. And surely that was a better option than comfort eating and ending up being a fat bastard," Draco replied with a smirk.

"I wouldn't know, mate." Theo answered, sucking his stomach in and puffing out his chest. He mulled over his friend's words.

"So… you're really over Hermione then?"

Draco looked down at the floor, avoiding his friend's careful gaze.

"Yes. I guess I am."

"Are you bollocks." Theo thought to himself.

"And you're really going to carry on this thing with Astoria?" he asked with incredulity.

"Yes, of course. Why, does that surprise you?"

Theo let out a long breath, rubbing his hands over his face as he steeled himself.

"Look Draco, I hate to be the one to tell you, but it looks to me like Astoria's not the harmless little nice girl you think she is."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I mean, this afternoon, she made it quite clear to me that as soon as she gets her claws into you _officially_, she intends to lead you away from your _silly little muggle music hobby_," Theo explained, making quotation marks in the air before continuing.

"It sounds like it's all been planned, mate. Daddy Greengrass is going to have you running around after him in his family business as the good little son-in-law, so you can support his daughter and all the blond haired little sprogs that she's planning on popping out for you once you're married."

Draco stared at Theo, his mouth slightly open with shock. He eventually gave a short laugh.

"You're having me on…"

"I'm not! That's what she said! She didn't recognise me and just kept spilling the beans, not realising that as your best friend I was bound to tell you. She thought that I just worked here for you, and went off on one, advising me that I might want to start looking for another job! And she made it perfectly clear that being in here surrounded by all this muggle stuff left her with a very bad taste in her mouth."

Draco shook his head with disbelief.

"You must have misunderstood, Theo. She's known about my line of business all along. There's no way she'd have got involved with me if that's how she felt."

"Yeah? Well she is a Slytherin pureblood after all, not that you'd know now that you've practically become a fucking, chilled out Hufflepuff."

Draco stared at Theo with hard eyes. "I just don't think Astoria would do that, Theo. You must have got the wrong end of the stick. She's been nothing but totally supportive of me."

"I'm sorry mate. I know you like her and you think you've finally found happiness, but it's what she said…"

"You're wrong, Theo. I appreciate you looking out for me, but it doesn't fit. I'm sure I can get this all cleared up at this luncheon tomorrow."

"Yeah. I'm sure you'll get to the bottom of it, one way or another." Theo said quietly, looking pointedly into his friend's eyes.

A solemn and awkward silence fell over the pair as they digested the afternoon's events.

"Look, I'm just off upstairs to get changed out of this bloody suit." Draco said as he headed to the back of the shop and through the small door at the rear that led to a narrow staircase to his flat.

"Keep an eye on things for me?"

"No actually, I think I'll put a sign out front saying '_Free Muggle Shit - Help Yourself'_," Theo called back.

"Wanker!" came Draco's echoey voice from the stairwell.

"Twathead!" Theo returned loudly just as a group of teenage witches entered the shop. They looked at Theo with wide eyes, before giggling their way into the corner to look at Draco's latest stock. The good natured name calling with his friend was an unspoken signal that despite their awkward disagreement about Astoria, they were still 'good'.

Theo eyed the girls in the corner for a moment before his eyes fell on Draco's manuscript on the table. Once more he lifted the weighty document and flicked the corner of the pages rapidly, raising an eyebrow at the sheer size of the work and let out another low whistle of appreciation at his friend's hard work and commitment.

His mind turned to Granger and her parents. Draco had told him all about what she had done to protect them and had to agree with him that it was an incredible act of selfless bravery. He imagined how thrilled she would be if she learnt what Draco had done in order to rescue her parents and the hundreds of other sufferers from their miserable condition.

He recalled the repeated pained expression that came over his friend's face every time he mentioned her name. It was clear that Draco was most definitely not over Hermione, and he was damned if he was going to let Greengrass and his father's scheming come to fruition.

He looked at the name on the front of the paper and made a huff of disapproval. "Dickhead," he muttered under his breath, before taking out his wand.

Meanwhile, Draco was jogging lightly back down the stairs, having changed out of his suit and into a pair of jeans and a Stone Roses T shirt. He always dressed in this manner when working in the shop or hanging out in his flat, choosing from his growing collection of band T shirts.

As he entered the shop, Theo was just slipping his coat on and getting ready to leave, having heard him making his way downstairs.

"Here you are, numb nuts," he said as he slung the research paper at Draco's chest. "You don't want to go leaving that lying around. You never know what might happen to it."

Draco caught hold of his paper and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, good one Theo," he said as he made his way over to the safe out back, locking it away securely.

"Although, I have got other copies, of course." he said as he came back to his friend.

"Of course. But you can't be too careful. It might end up in the wrong hands." Theo replied with a knowing smile.

Draco nodded. "You off then?"

"Yep. Things to see, people to do."

"I do hope that by 'people' you mean Tracey?" Draco asked.

"Correct." Theo stated, pointedly. "I'm meeting her in The Leaky. Now cough up my wages and I'll be on my way."

Draco smiled and shook his head before pulling out a tin containing a dozen of Loxey's cherry scones from behind the counter.

"Are you sure about this? I'd really feel better if you took an actual wage from me. You've been here all afternoon, after all."

"Shut up Malfoy. The deal was scones and that's what I want, so hand over the goods!"

Draco laughed down his nose and passed the tin to his friend. "Okay, okay. Just don't go eating them all at once, fatty."

"Oi!" Theo complained, rubbing his tummy with a faux-hurt expression. "It's not fat, it's insulation!"

"Whatever." Draco replied. "I'll see you next weekend for some beers?"

"Not if I see you first!"

And with that, Theo headed off to the door, pausing as he reached out for the handle and turning back to Draco.

"I hope things go okay tomorrow. At the manor, I mean."

"Everything will be fine, Theo. Don't worry."

And with the small bell tinkling in the door frame, Theo made his way out into the Diagon Alley, his coat laden with the weight of a heavy manuscript that was rolled up and tucked inside his pocket, as he went on his way.


	11. Chapter 11

**~eleven~ **

The last few hours of the afternoon passed by slowly with only a few more customers trickling in. There was a slightly busier time after 5 o'clock when the other shops of Diagon Alley began to close and staff began to make their way home, many calling in to Draco's shop for a quick browse and a coffee. As the customers left, he began his evening routines of getting the shop tidied and secure as closing time drew near. His mind was racing with the thoughts of everything Theo had told him earlier.

He went around the store, swishing his wand here and there, magically rearranging the records into their correct locations that he always kept painstakingly well organised. As he did so he took in his surroundings. Yes, he could see how Astoria might struggle to see the appeal of the place, even though he loved it.

The bare wooden floorboards, brick walls decked with framed album artwork, rustic wooden and industrial looking shelving and displays and the comfy, second-hand sofas that furnished the lounge area certainly seemed to be in sharp contrast to Astoria's high end, wizarding tastes. Maybe she had been expecting something else when she had called by earlier, and her surprise had been misconstrued by Theo as distaste somehow?

He walked back over to the lounge area and knelt down as he began polishing the coffee table with a soft cloth, choosing to do it the muggle way, as he was often inclined to when his mind was occupied by troubling thoughts. He began to mull over the idea that his father had a plan to lead him away from his music business.

It was no secret that his father had orchestrated his developing relationship with Astoria in the beginning, and that had been no surprise to Draco really. Purebloods were renowned for matchmaking between each other for their heirs and heiresses, and his father had never shied away from expressing his own clear distaste at Draco's muggle venture. It did sound like something his father would do, but it was the idea that Astoria was in on it that Draco found to be the most disconcerting. Was she really that two faced that she had been able to pull the wool over his eyes?

No. No he just couldn't see it at all. Astoria had been nothing but supportive and interested in what he was working on. He really liked the girl, so much so that he had been considering getting a bit more serious with her. He was sure that he would have known had she been hiding an ulterior motive from him.

He zoned out and pressed on with polishing the coffee table in large circles, continuing to digest the afternoon's events, when all of sudden and with a yelp of surprise, Draco was shaken from his reverie by the sight and sound of a large and familiar looking manuscript landing heavily with a loud thud in front of him on the polished surface. He jumped back slightly and looked up with confusion etched on his face.

He was startled by the sight before him. There stood Hermione, with her arms folded challengingly across her chest, which was rising steadily up and down as she breathed deeply. She looked visibly shaken. Her eyes were full of emotion as she stared him down. He stood up slowly, not taking his eyes off her for a second.

"What are...? You have my study?" he asked with disbelief, a torrent of questions forming in his mind.

"Yes. I had a visit from Theodore."

Draco's raging anger rose within him at his friends' intrusion and interference.

"Theo…?"

"Draco. You… you did this?" she said stepping towards him eagerly. "You continued with your study? And... you've potentially found a way of healing powerful memory loss?"

"Well… yes. Maybe."

"Draco, there's not really much maybe about it! I mean - I've read it. I've sat and devoured the whole thing in the last two hours. It's… it's perfect." she said with a whisper.

Draco stared at Hermione. She looked different somehow. She looked…sad and exhausted. A little more like she did back in eighth year - thinner and with dark circles under her eyes. He felt pain in his heart at seeing her like this. He smiled at her warmly.

"Thanks, Hermione. I'm glad you're happy with it."

Hermione gave a teary-eyed smile in return and a small, wry laugh escaped her lips. Her glassy eyes looked skyward as she sighed with exasperation, shaking her head slightly. She looked like she was on the verge of bursting into tears.

Draco took a step towards and reached out to touch her in a comforting gesture to only be surprised when she shrugged him off swiftly, moving out of his reach. He froze to the spot, feeling hurt and confused.

Hermione walked away from him, arms still wrapped across her chest.

"I… I really messed up with you, didn't I?" she muttered quietly.

"Sorry?"

She turned with a sad smile to face him once more.

"Just when I thought I was getting over you, you go and do this amazing thing!" she exclaimed, before realising her unplanned confession and closing her eyes with regret.

Draco absorbed her words fully. "You? You were _getting over_ me? I…? What…?" he stammered with confusion.

She breathed out and sat down heavily on one of the sofas, head in hands as she explained.

"Last year. When you were living with Justin. I guess I... sort of had feelings for you."

"You had feelings for me?"

"Yes, well, you had feelings for me too!"

Draco stared with surprise at her accurate accusation, letting out an indignant huff.

"Well don't deny it, Draco. Theo told me everything this afternoon…"

"Theo had no right!" he shouted, causing Hermione to visibly startle at his words. Again his heart cracked at the sight of her emotion and he took a breath to steady his own feelings and keep his anger in check.

"Why on earth are you telling me this _now_? Yes, I had feelings for you, okay? God's Hermione, I turned myself inside out seeing you with Justin every day. I mean, I bloody well kissed you, didn't I?"

Hermione chewed her lip nervously and nodded, with a sniff.

"And _now _you're saying you had feelings for me all along?!"

She nodded again and squeezed her eyes shut as she made her admission.

Draco paced towards the counter, shaking his head and rubbing his hand across his forehead.

"So… when _you_ kissed _me _that night ...what was that?"

Hermione shook her head, looking up at the ceiling as she recalled the events of that night in the flat.

"I was confused, Draco. Yes, I wanted to hurt Justin for humiliating me, but that was totally secondary to my feelings for you…"

Draco gave a short laugh, again shaking his head in disbelief. An awkward silence fell between the pair as they digested what had transpired between them.

"Hermione, getting over you was one of the hardest things I've ever done." he admitted, quietly.

She looked up at him, sharply.

"And now…"

"Now you're with Astoria." she said, completing his sentence for him with a slight bitterness to her tone.

"Yes, I'm with Astoria!" Draco shouted once more. "You have no right to come down here and tell me this now! I'm with Astoria! I've moved on, Hermione, that ship has sailed! Please…" he trailed off, getting his emotion and volume in check at the sight of the pain in Hermione's eyes.

"...Please. I have to lock up the shop. Please leave." he stated with a quiet voice, not daring to look in her eyes.

She stood slowly and walked to the shop door, Draco determinedly staring at the floor. He knew if he looked at her, his will power might cave in and he might stop her.

As Hermione got to the door and pulled it open, she quietly spoke.

"I'm sorry, Draco. My intention coming over here was to thank you for what you've done. And I've messed it up. I'm glad you've found happiness, and I'll always be indebted to you for what you've done..." she trailed off, her voice breaking as tears finally came through.

Draco's will power immediately crumpled and he looked up suddenly as the pop of apparition signalled that she had left.

Draco paced up and down with despair, the wooden floorboards creaking heavily as he did so.

What the hell was going on today? First Theo making accusations about Astoria and his father, and now Hermione confessing feelings for him! He marched over to the door and slid the large metal bolt along angrily, looking out into the street outside.

His instinct was to apparate straight over to Theo's and punch him in the face. What was he thinking - copying his manuscript and taking it her? He sensed the feint lick of angry magic crackling at his fingertips and took a deep breath to calm himself. He decided it was best to leave off visiting Theo alone until he was in a better state of mind.

He went to the shop counter and pulled out a small parchment, hurriedly scrawling a note on it, reading:

"_I am going to give you a taste of Flinchley's medicine when I see you, you interfering bastard."_

Rolling the small parchment up, he then stormed upstairs to his small flat, finding his faithful eagle owl perched contentedly in the small window overlooking the streets below.

"Hi Nicomedes." Draco greeted, giving him a small stroke under his beak.

"Take this to that twat Nott, will you?" he asked as he attached the small scroll to the bird's leg. "And feel free to take a massive shit on his carpet, while you're there."

Draco then opened the window and watched as his familiar took flight into the evening air, circling slowly and then disappearing off into the distance.

The cool air blowing in seemed to have a calming effect on Draco as he watched the skies above. He took the moment to gain some perspective on the highly eventful day that he had just had.

Yes, he was furious with Theo, but he could see how he what he had done was just a really stupid act of friendship and he knew that he would most likely forgive him for it sooner rather than later.

He was tempted to owl Astoria that night and arrange to meet her to have things out with her, but after some careful consideration, he thought it would be better for him to sleep on it and approach it with a fresh face the next day at the planned luncheon. He really liked the girl and felt strongly that Theo must have misunderstood her intentions that afternoon. A meeting with his parents would be a good opportunity to watch how Astoria and her father interact and might give him a better insight into her feelings about their relationship.

Thoughts of his feelings for Astoria then naturally turned to his feelings for Hermione. He wandered over to the kitchenette and filled the kettle, placing it on the stove. He was determined to not let her confession of feelings this afternoon take a hold of him. He recalled with a sigh how difficult a time he had had getting over Hermione in the months after the gala evening when she had implied that their kiss had meant nothing to her. Why had she lied about her feelings back then?

The small kettle began to whistle merrily and he carefully made himself a cup of tea. He couldn't help but begin to form a side by side comparison of Hermione and Astoria in his mind as he went over to sit on the small leather sofa. The two girls were really nothing alike in either looks or personality. He found himself smiling with fondness more and more as he thought about Hermione, the feelings being shattered when he recalled her hurt and depressed demeanour earlier that night.

He squeezed his eyes shut with a feeling of regret at the way he had shouted at her so angrily, but then began to chide himself internally for it. No! He was right to be cross! He was happy with Astoria, and she shouldn't have come round here saying what she had.

"It's too late." he told himself assertively. "I'm over her. I'm really over her."

His eyes fell on his copy of Abbey Road that was lying on the side next to his record player and he squeezed his eyes shut with a deep breath, lying back heavily on the sofa and staring at the ceiling.

It was going to be a long night.


	12. Chapter 12

**~twelve~**

It was indeed a long and arduous night for the young Malfoy. He tried to take his mind off the events of the day in the early evening by immersing himself in music, listening to newly released albums and reading the NME. But to no avail. His mind kept wandering back to wondering what might transpire at the luncheon at the manor the next day. Or worse still; picturing Hermione crying alone somewhere after he had shouted her down earlier.

When it came to bedtime, Draco found it impossible to settle, and he spent many hours tossing and turning in his comfy bed. He finally had given up in the early hours of the morning and headed back into the lounge for a cup of tea, which rapidly turned into several glasses of firewhisky.

He had eventually passed out and woke groggily at nearly eleven am, as a shaft of bright, morning sunlight sliced through the gap in his curtains and onto his face. He could hear the sounds of Loxey pottering around in the shop and there was a delicious smell of fresh coffee and warm pastries wafting up the stairs.

With a gruff moan, he staggered to his feet and stretched with a yawn, his body complaining at having slept at an awkward angle on the sofa. He grabbed his wand from the lamp table nearby and accioed a glass from the kitchen side, filling it with water using a quick aguamenti, gulping the cold liquid down greedily.

He sighed as his mind began to tease him with the remembrance of yesterday's trying events and made his way to the small bathroom to try to freshen up in preparation for the forthcoming luncheon.

A dose of hangover potion and a long, hot shower soon had Draco feeling more like himself, but he still felt tired and achy as he dressed in some ripped jeans and a polo top. Fastening the laces on his well-worn baseball boots, his immediate thought was to go to the manor earlier than necessary and then head to his old room to dress in something more appropriate. But as he moved to stand in front of the long mirror that hung on the back of the bedroom door and began fixing his hair, a germ of a thought began to develop in his mind.

What if he didn't bother changing? Why did he feel the need to continue to conform to those ridiculous pureblood expectations when that simply wasn't who he was anymore? It was lunch with his parents and his girlfriend, for crying out loud! If he couldn't relax and be himself at his own childhood home, then where could he?

He then started to wonder what Astoria would make of him dressed in such a casual way. When he thought about it some more, he realised that the majority of time that they'd spent together was out on formally arranged dates, where he had made an effort to dress up more smartly.

The first time that they'd slept together was back at her apartment that she shared with her sister in a wizarding part of London, after a dinner date at a very fancy restaurant that always had a resident pianist, where the clientele usually ended the night with a little dance.

Having Astoria pressed against him that night had certainly awakened a hint of something inside him that he hadn't felt in quite some time. Not since… well not since Hermione's kiss. He was so relieved at the sensation that he had acted on it immediately, holding Astoria tightly and kissing her passionately.

The next day he had of course dressed in his smart suit again, before heading home. She'd never actually been here, to his little flat. She'd always just persuaded him to come back home with her after their many rendezvous, rather than the other way around.

He sighed with a hint of regret when he thought of the first time he had slept with Astoria. It had been good - well it was bound to be after all those months! But he felt a spark of guilt inside when he recalled how he had still had a certain curly-haired muggleborn in the corner of his mind when he had been pressing Astoria into the mattress of her lavishly huge, four poster bed. If he was being totally honest with himself, he would have to admit that she had never been far from his mind at every sexual encounter between himself and Astoria since.

Nevertheless, he convinced himself that the lingering image of her in his mind at those times was just a force of habit rather than anything else, and was sure that given more time she would fade away, allowing him to concentrate his attention more completely on his girlfriend.

Draco headed down the stairs and into the shop, his stomach grumbling loudly at the delicious smells that greeted him.

The shop had a few customers perusing the LP's at the front of the store, and Loxey was levitating a tray of mugs and plates away to the rear of the shop to get them washed. It seemed the shop had already had a few customers call in for a bite to eat. Upon checking the till roll, Draco was pleased to see that a few music purchases had already been made, along with an order for a magically refurbished record player.

"Master Draco, sir!" came Loxey's warm greeting when he caught sight of him pouring a coffee from the jug on the little stove. "You is wanting to be leaving soon, on account of the Mistress' luncheon!"

Draco smiled at the little elf and lazily glanced at his watch.

"Nah. I've got loads of time, Loxey. Don't you worry about me."

Loxey paused and blinked with puzzlement as his large eyes ranged over Draco's appearance.

"You is certain you is not wishing for Loxey to fetch you some robes from the manor? Loxey can apparate and return with great speed…"

"No! No, don't trouble yourself, Loxey," Draco interjected. "I'm perfectly happy to stay as I am."

The elf blinked again with a now bemused expression. He then gave a little bob of his head to demonstrate his acknowledgement, before returning to his work in the shop.

Draco made a point of sticking around in the shop for as long as possible, before taking a short stroll along Diagon Alley. He wanted to pick up some flowers from the sweet little flower pedlar who could always be found with her wooden cart which was always strewn with the most colourful and fragrant blooms, on the corner opposite Gringotts. The flowers were a gift for Astoria and his mother, of course. He may have decided to make a statement with his clothing choice that day, but there were some habits and gentlemanly behaviours that he would have been loathed to shed, no matter what the circumstances.

He then took himself back to the shop, calling out a farewell to Loxey, as he made his way up the stairs and towards the floo in his flat.

As the green flames in the manor fireplace died down and he stepped through into the manor's reception room, Draco took a deep breath to steady himself.

"Relax," he told himself calmly. "You're going to get this misunderstanding all ironed out, so you can get on with building your relationship with Astoria."

He was determined to channel his thoughts towards Astoria and to push all thoughts of Hermione out of his mind, as the prospect of potentially falling once more down that rabbit hole of loss and longing for her filled him with dread. He held his head high and made his way assertively through the manor towards the drawing room off the small dining room, where his parents usually greeted their luncheon guests.

As he approached the ornate drawing room, the doors to the room were already ajar, and he caught a glimpse of the back of Astoria. She was standing near to the window, looking out over the grounds. She was wearing royal blue dress robes, consisting of a slim fitting pencil skirt and a three quarter length sleeve jacket. However, most unusually, she had styled her long brown hair into glossy, bouncy curls, something that she had never done before, and it caused Draco to stumble slightly and pause in his tracks at the similarity to Hermione.

He took a breath and shook his head at his own reaction.

"Don't be a dick, Malfoy," he chided himself, assertively entering the room unannounced and striding over to her. He grabbed her with uncharacteristic determination, turning her and pressing her back into the bay window as he urgently attempted to kiss the thought of Hermione out of his mind.

Astoria squeaked with alarm, gripping his shoulders and pushing him back off her with a sharp breath, her wide eyes showing her shock at being handled in such a way.

"Draco!" she said with complaint, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand and gesturing across the room with wide eyes. "Not here."

Draco turned slightly to see his father casually reclining in the armchair by the fire, his eyebrows raised and a most bemused smirk across his mouth.

"Good afternoon, Draco," he said with a sly tone. "Come now, let the poor girl breathe, won't you?"

Draco took a step away from Astoria, who was now smoothing out the non-existent crumples from her clothes and tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

He nodded towards his father and ushered Astoria forwards towards the seating area with open arms, so that they could all sit together and await his mother's arrival.

Astoria however remained stock still. Draco looked at her with confusion before clocking her gaze. She was eying his appearance uncomfortably with a slightly furrowed brow as she took in every detail of his clothing, from the casual jacket and up-turned up collar of his polo shirt, to the small rips on the knees of his jeans and the scuff marks on his Converse.

"Draco," she whispered. "Aren't you going to get changed?"

He looked down at his clothes before looking her dead in the face with a smile.

"Nope. This is me!" he cheerfully announced, not failing to notice the seemingly forced nature of her smile as she nodded in response. The pair then walked over to sit in the armchairs that were arranged by the fire to join his father, Draco recognising the look of pure distaste on his father's face as he too took in his son's appearance. Astoria continued to side-eye Draco every few steps, maintaining her broad smile that didn't appear to connect with the eyes.

"So Draco, what news do you bring home?" Lucius asked with fake interest as he leant forwards to send some fresh sparks into the dying fire, causing it to spark up with life once more.

"Well, father, I am pleased to say that I have something rather special and important to announce over lunch. I'd much rather share it when mother is present, if it's all the same to you."

Lucius' eyebrows quirked minutely with interest at his son's announcement and Draco could sense Astoria's head had turned sharply towards him, wondering what this big news could be.

At that moment and with a rustle of her diaphanous gown, the Malfoy matriarch entered, her eyes immediately searching the room for her son and locking on him with an adoring smile.

Draco stood up to greet her as she walked hastily forwards with her arms held out, embracing him with warm affection as soon as she was near.

"Darling!" she cooed, standing back to look at him. Draco braced himself for the look of distaste he thought he might receive at his choice of clothing, but found none. His mother seemed to completely overlook his clothes and beamed at him broadly.

"Mother," he replied, kissing her on both cheeks. "You look lovely."

"I've missed you, so much," his mother whispered, before going to link his arm.

"Oh, just a second," he said, stepping back and rummaging inside his jacket pocket. He quickly produced two perfectly miniature bunches of flowers, that he then proceeded to return to original size with a flick of his wand.

"For you," he said, presenting the beautiful posy of Lily of the Valley to his mother, and then returning to Astoria to give her her own. The posies were small and simple, hand tied with an elegant, creamy ribbon.

"Oh," came Astoria's surprised response. "How… sweet."

"I bought them from the little pedlar witch who's always outside Gringotts," Draco explained as his mother approached the fireplace. Narcissa was busy burying her face in the delicate posy and relishing its pleasant fragrance. Draco couldn't help but compare his mother's reaction to that of his girlfriend at the news of where the flowers had come from.

She seemed to visibly shrink away from the posy, lifting it carefully at something akin to arm's length and placing it delicately down on the side table. He watched as she subtly wiped her hands on the side of her skirt. Draco shook his head as his father and Astoria rose from their seats and the group made their way through to the dining room.

He told himself that it was just the events of the day before that had sown seeds of doubt in his mind about Astoria, and that he must have been imagining all these little negative nuances that he had never noticed before.

The table was set for a simple two course luncheon as the four took their seats. Narcissa instantly began to make pleasant conversation with Astoria, asking her about her work and interests, as the house elves served bowls of cold cucumber soup. Lucius maintained a bored expression throughout and Draco put in a huge amount of effort to listen attentively to Astoria's chatter about her clothes and her interior design plans for her apartment.

As the main courses were brought out, Lucius turned his attention to Draco.

"So Narcissa, Draco tells me that he has some rather special news to share with us all."

His mother's eyes widened and sparkled with interest as she turned towards her son.

"Draco? Are you keeping secrets from us?"

"Well... maybe…" he replied taking a purposefully long swig of his water and eying Astoria carefully. She was shuffling uncomfortably in her chair. Narcissa looked swiftly between Draco and Astoria, clearly trying to second guess that it was something to do with their relationship.

"Astoria? Do you have something to do with this?"

"No. Unfortunately, not," she replied. "I'm as eager to discover the news as yourself."

Draco set his glass down softly and began to regale his parents and Astoria with the news of his secret pursuit of his independent study and its successful reception at the presentation the day before. Astoria's eyes were blown wide with interest, and Draco noticed that she kept glancing with a smile towards his father, who managed to maintain a much more indifferent expression.

"So that explains why you kept coming here and hiding yourself away in the library for all those hours earlier this year!" Narcissa exclaimed with a clap of her hands. "Oh Draco! You clever, clever boy!"

Draco flushed slightly at his mother's praise, looking down at his plate.

"Yes!" Astoria cried out with a triumphant smile. "This is wonderful news Draco!"

"Indeed." Lucius agreed, taking a sip of his own drink with a wry smirk.

"Draco, we are so proud of your achievement," his mother continued to gush. "Such a selfless pursuit, to endeavour with your studies in the face of adversity in order to help all those people."

"Oh Draco. I'm so happy! What you've done is amazing!" Astoria announced, reaching out and taking hold of his hand across the table.

Draco felt a warm affection towards her as she beamed at him with. It reassured him to see how happy she was for him and restored his faith in his affection for her.

"And of course, you can pursue _this_ line of work now, instead of relying on that music shop that you've been ploughing all your energy into all these months!" she continued, removing her hand and returning to her meal with a smile.

Draco placed his knife and fork down and stared at her, trying to read her response more fully. Narcissa, sensing her son's reaction paused, eying him with care.

"Sorry?"

"Your muggle music shop." Astoria continued, oblivious to Draco's rapidly cooling demeanour at her side. "Surely you can put that all behind you now?"

Draco chewed and swallowed his poached chicken in purposeful silence, glancing at his father who was maintaining a closed and indifferent expression as he sliced his food with precision. He knew that the conversation was heading in the direction of Astoria's feelings about his shop and business.

He could see how from what she had said just now made it _seem_ like she wasn't keen on him running Vinyl Resting Place as his main line of business, but she hadn't actually admitted that. Theo had made out that she outright loathed the idea, and that there was some bigger plan including marriage on the horizon.

He weighed the situation up swiftly in his mind. He decided to keep his cards close to his chest in order to tease out as much information as possible. That way he could be sure to get this misunderstanding that Theo had had all set right.

"I suppose I _could_ do that, yes." Draco suggested noncommittally. "The potion that I have patented could turn over a good profit once it hits full scale manufacture and is distributed widely, and then I _could_ continue to pursue healership research, if I wanted to"

Astoria sighed with satisfaction and smiled at him.

"I think it sounds perfect, Draco. You are so gifted, I think you could achieve anything you want to!"

"Thank you, Astoria." he said with a small smile in return.

"Of course, our Draco has always had a wide reaching range of talents and interests, haven't you dear?" Narcissa chimed in. "I do believe that he would make a huge success of any venture he embarked upon, whether that be healership research or retail business. There was a time that I was convinced that he would end up playing Quidditch professionally, such was his passion and flare for it as a young teenager. But of course, his father was keen to guide him towards something more becoming, weren't you dear?"

Astoria giggled and took a sip of her water.

"Much as I enjoyed the sport myself in my youth, becoming a Quidditch player is simply not an appropriate career path for an heir of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, Narcissa," Lucius answered matter-of-factly. "Far too crass."

"Is that so, father?" Draco queried. "And what about running a muggle music retail business? How would that serve the Sacred Twenty-Eight?"

Lucius chewed his chicken carefully as he stared at Draco with hard eyes, considering his answer, but was beaten to a response by Miss Greengrass.

"Well that would be a big no, of course! I would think even the Quidditch idea would be preferable to _that_." she stated pointedly. "Oh, Draco," she continued, as though the floodgates to her true feelings had been blown open, "you must be so relieved that you now have such a lucrative and acceptable path to follow. Of course, Lucius and my father had already arranged for father to be all ready to step in and get you a foot in the door of Greengrass Estates, should you need some help in finding something more becoming. But... look! You've done it all by yourself!"

Draco closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath in through his nose. So there it was. Theo had been right all along. Astoria had just been playing along, acting as though him owning the shop didn't matter to her, when really she had just been biding her time.

"Lucius?" Narcissa hissed across the table. "Have you been meddling in Draco's affairs behind my back?"

Astoria's eyes widened at the realisation of her faux pas and she looked across at Lucius with apologetic eyes.

"My dear, Castor Greengrass and I had a discussion about the mutual benefits of Draco and Astoria's union many months ago when it was first proposed. Of course I had a vested interest in it. Draco was going down a path that I simply couldn't allow to go unchecked."

"You couldn't _allow_ it?" Draco asked with an icy tone.

Astoria took hold of Draco's hand again in an attempt to calm the situation.

"Well look, Draco, there's no harm done now is there? Now that you've secured a future in healer research and your potion is about to take off, there's little point in us discussing the inappropriateness of your shop or the offer to work for my father's business now, is there?"

"Actually, that couldn't be further from the truth," he continued coolly, snatching his hand away from hers. "You see, I also have a second piece of exciting news to share."

Astoria's eyes widened and she glanced around the table in confusion.

"Oh?" Narcissa asked calmly. "And what might that be?"

"Well earlier this month, I made a little trip to Hogsmeade to look at a property there."

"A property?" Astoria asked. "You mean, a _house_?" she said with interest.

"I mean a shop."

Astoria swiftly placed down her cutlery with a clatter and gaped at Draco wide eyed.

"You mean..?"

"Vinyl Resting Place is branching out. I put in an offer there and then and had it accepted. I received news this week that everything had gone through and the keys will be owled over to me next week. So, you see, my muggle music shop is a little more than just an idea. I am committed to pursue it to its fullest."

"And your healership work?" Lucius asked with disbelief.

"Just a little sideline that worked out far better than I could have imagined. It's not something that I intend to pursue further."

Astoria sat staring from Draco to Lucius and back again and the look of horror on her face was not lost him.

"But you said… just now, you said…" she stammered, her voice getting louder and higher in pitch.

"I am quite aware of what I said, Astoria!" Draco snapped. "I said that I _could_ pursue healership research if I _wanted_ to. But you see, that fact of the matter is that I _don't_ want to. I wanted to finish my independent study as it was the right thing to do, knowing that I was about to hit on something really significant that would help so many people. But that's it."

"Draco, don't be a fool." Lucius replied. "You do realise how lucrative your potion sales could be, do you not?" There will be so many horribly _desperate_ people who will want to get their hands on it, that you could get away with pricing the potion extremely profitably. So much so, that you would have no need to pursue any wider income, through your muggle… thing."

Draco stared open-mouthed at his father's crassness. He stood up swiftly, throwing his napkin down on the table with anger. Narcissa visibly jumped at the loud scraping noise his chair made.

"You really are something else, aren't you father? Do you not realise, that most of those _'horribly desperate' _people that you mentioned find themselves in need of my potion as a result of their torture and abuse during the war?! Many of them are your own fucking victims!"

Narcissa and Astoria gasped and Draco looked apologetically over at his mother.

"I'm sorry mother, but it had to be said. Father, you are out of your mind if you think for one second that I intend to make any kind of financial gain from my research or from the production of my potion. I fully intend to plough every single knut that I make when I sell the patent, back into the healership research department at St Mungo's. It's the very least I can do."

Narcissa couldn't help but give her son a small smile, her eyes twinkling with pride.

Draco then turned his attention to Astoria.

"Astoria, you know I refused to believe Theo when he told me everything that you'd said to him in the shop yesterday."

"Theo?" Astoria repeated with confusion. "You mean the shop boy?"

"Yes I mean the shop boy. You know, the one you went spilling your guts to about the little plan between you and your father and my father?"

Lucius rolled his eyes with disappointment at Astoria's slip up.

"You see, he's not just some shop boy who you thought you were doing a favour by recommending he look for another job. That was Theodore Nott. My best friend? Name ring a bell?"

Astoria's eyes widened with horror as she indeed recognised the name.

"I… I…" she stammered.

"He told me everything, and you know what? I argued with him! I stuck up for you and told him how supportive you'd been! I assured him that he'd misunderstood you. God's Astoria, I really thought our relationship was going somewhere. If only you knew what I've forfeited …" he trailed off as he once again remembered the incident with Hermione. He took a deep, calming breath and turned to his mother.

"Mother, thank you for the invitation to the luncheon. I'm sorry it turned out this way. Goodbye, Astoria," he announced as he turned on his heel and stormed out of the dining room with fierce determination to escape. Taking the stairs two at a time, he instinctively made his way to his old room to seek solace from the afternoon's revelations.


	13. Chapter 13

**~thirteen~**

Draco's feet plodded heavily with anger as he ascended the grand staircase in the manor's hallway. His whole body was pulsating with rage-fuelled magic and he breathed deeply through his nose to keep his emotions in check.

"Truly!" he called out, summoning one of Loxey's colleagues, the small elf appearing instantaneously with a pop. Draco continued to keep his eyes set dead ahead and continued forwards up the stairs, not stopping to greet or look at the elf, who was standing a few steps below, eyes wide with wonder.

"Have my father's fine silver decanter tray from his office brought to my room immediately."

The elf gawped with concern at her young master's controversial request.

"But surely you is not meaning the Master's finest oak-aged firewhiskey?" she asked, her glassy eyes blinking with disbelief.

"Yes Truly, that is exactly what I mean."

"But Master is being very particular about not sharing his finest whiskey, Sir. Not even with most honoured guests."

Draco sighed and slowed down momentarily, before coming to a complete pause, still facing away from the elf.

"Just do it, Truly. You know I won't let you face any repercussions."

Truly gave a little curtsy before disappearing to carry out her orders. Draco continued to march purposefully onwards to the top of the stairs, before turning off down the long corridor towards his room.

Upon entering he was pleased to see the silver, moulded tray that normally sat in his father's office, now waiting for him on top of the mahogany tallboy in his room.

He strode over to it and with a satisfied smirk, took one of the heavy, crystal tumblers, pouring himself a generous amount of firewhiskey from the glinting decanter.

He downed it in one mouthful, closing his eyes and taking a long drawn breath. Then he wiped his brow with the back of his hand that was still clutching the empty glass.

He took a moment to enjoy the warm sensation of the smoky and flavourful liquor that bloomed in his chest, before pouring himself another.

Draco then placed the tumbler with meticulous precision on a coaster on his bedside table before sitting down heavily on his ornately carved, four poster bed. Taking a deep breath, he threw himself back to stare dolefully at the canopied fabric above.

What an idiot he had been.

With the glorious benefit of hindsight, he could see how blind he had been to Astoria's falseness. He should have been more wary of the match made by his father and been far more mindful of Astoria's background - rich, pureblood… _Slytherin_.

The signs had been there all along. Had he been so eager to make things work with her in desperation to get over Hermione, that his mind had subconsciously overlooked them?

And there it was. That name. Her name. The name that never failed to make his heart miss a beat. The name that conjured up hundreds of beautiful images in his mind. The name drove a euphoric high through his soul before severing his heart in two with every other syllable.

The anger he was feeling about Astoria was so intrinsically linked to that name. He had turned Hermione away and denied his own feelings out of some hugely misplaced devotion to Astoria fucking Greengrass and out of fear of being crushed all over again.

He had shouted at Hermione and told her to leave. His heart wrenched as he relived the look that she had had on her face at that moment and he covered his eyes with the back of his wrist as he let out a deep sigh of regret.

Just then there was a soft knock at the door, and his mother entered warily. Draco didn't even lift his arm from his eyes to greet her.

"Draco?" his mother announced softly as she came through the doorway. "May I join you?"

"Of course," he replied coolly.

Narcissa entered more fully and closed the door behind her with a soft click. She took a moment to look at her son, recognising all too well the sullen demeanour he had adopted on his bed. She smiled to herself as she was reminded of the young boy who used to sulk in his room on the very rare occasion that he had not got his own way over the latest toy or racing broom. It was clear however, that this was rather more serious.

She rustled quietly over to his bed and perched effortlessly at his side, turning to face him. Resting a comforting hand on his arm she spoke softly to him, in a way to which he always responded.

"Draco?" she cooed softly. "Draco, come now. Let us talk."

Draco sighed again and let his arm fall heavily from his eyes to his side. He rolled his eyes across to meet hers and stared into her blue orbs that were so similar to his own.

"Alright," he stated unenthusiastically.

"Darling," she began, her face full of sweet sympathy for her son. "I am so very sorry for what happened. If I had known for one second…"

"No, mother," he said sitting up slightly on his elbows. "There is absolutely no need for you to apologise. I think it's perfectly clear that this was a plan of father's invention. You had nothing to do with it."

"Well that doesn't stop me from feeling sorry about it, dear. You seemed so very fond of Astoria."

Draco huffed out a breath of laughter and sat up more fully.

"Yes. I guess it did seem that way didn't it?"

Narcissa eyed him with suspicion at his response.

"Well, weren't you?"

Draco sighed and hung his head low.

"I _thought _I was, Mother. But… all this has just made me realise that Astoria and I… She was just a helpful distraction."

"A distraction? Well I suppose she did help to lift your spirits after that whole incident with Mr Finch Fletchley and your expulsion from the healer programme," she agreed with a small nod, before meeting his gaze with a knowing raise of her eyebrows.

Draco caught her eye before closing his eyes and throwing his head back down to the pillow behind him.

"Well… yes. There was that. But…" he trailed off, sighing forlornly and returning his gaze to the canopy above his bed once more.

Narcissa took hold of his hand and spoke to him with quiet confidence.

"You required a distraction from some other torment perhaps? Perhaps you were desperate to distract yourself from your broken heart?"

Draco looked up at his mother with surprise.

"You knew..?"

"Draco, my son," she replied, delicately placing her fingertips at the side of his face and turning it to face her more fully. "A mother _always _knows."

Draco sighed his acknowledgment. It was true that his mother had always had a sixth sense for picking up on his true feelings, no matter how hard he tried to keep them to himself.

"I knew as soon as I saw you and Miss Granger together at the Manor when she came to visit me about the gala evening. And not to mention, of course, during your period of despondency earlier this year."

Draco smiled and allowed himself a moment to revel in the fond memory of Hermione in her blue gala dress, before the weight of loss hit him once more. He sat up sharply, earning a surprised start from his mother.

"Oh mother, if only you knew what a mess I've made of everything," he said.

"Oh, I hardly think that can be the case!" she chided. "Come now, Draco. Surely, as regrettable as this whole… _situation _was this afternoon, it has resulted in you now being free to pursue your true heart's desire?"

"Well, you would think so, wouldn't you? But… the thing is, I've totally burned my bridges! She came by yesterday… to thank me for everything I had achieved with my study…"

"She knew about your study?" Narcissa interrupted with surprise.

"Oh. Yes. Theo decided to go interfering," he explained with a bitterness to his voice.

"But surely Miss Granger knowing about your success will only serve you well in your pursuit of her?"

Draco rubbed his hands across his face in a helpless manner.

"Well, yes. Ordinarily that would be the case, I suppose. But, you see mother, it took so much out of me, getting over her after I believed she had made clear her lack of feelings for me, that I think I put up some kind of defense mechanism."

"My mind just wouldn't let me entertain going there. I was so eager to make a go of things with Astoria out of sheer fear of ending up in that hopeless place I had found myself in for all that time, that I just totally dismissed her yesterday! I mean, she openly admitted that she had feelings for me, and I… well, I just… shot her down, mother! I shouted at her and asked her to leave, out of sheer fear and ridiculous misplaced loyalty to Astoria Greengrass! And all this after Theo had warned me!"

Narcissa gave him a warm and sympathetic smile.

"Draco," she began, stroking his hand softly. "If she truly has feelings for you in the way that I think she does, then whatever you said to her yesterday will be of little consequence."

He sighed deeply.

"I don't know, mother…"

"You love her, don't you?" his mother asked confidently.

Draco looked sharply at his mother. They had always been close, but he had never had such an open conversation with her about girls and relationships.

"I… I think I do. I have done for such a long time. But..."

"But nothing! '' she replied before he had a chance to argue. "By the Gods Draco, in all my years of matchmaking nonsense among the Sacred Twenty-Eight and in our wider circles, I don't think I have ever seen a couple so perfectly matched and drawn to each other in the way that you and Miss Granger are."

Draco stared at his mother, quite taken aback by her emotionally forthright outburst.

"Now then, you are going to go and see Miss Granger at once," she stated, rising gracefully from the bed and turning to face her son with a challenging expression.

Draco spluttered at the suggestion.

"At _once_?' he asked with a laugh of derision. "Mother, I.."

"Of course, you can take that delightful posy that you bought for me - not that I don't adore it darling, but needs must…" she continued, ignoring Draco's disputation as she paced excitedly at the side of his bed.

Draco shook his head and tried to interject but was unable to voice his rebuttal as his mother continued.

"Now, I wouldn't worry about your appearance, dear. I do feel that Miss Granger is true enough of heart to love you exactly the way you are, just of course as I do, but perhaps, a little fix of your hair..." she said, suddenly turning and approaching him with an outstretched hand, eyes ranging over his blond locks that were mussed from lying on bed.

Draco shot up from the bed, hastily dodging his mother's reach.

"Mother!' he cried out, causing her to freeze in her tracks, turning her eyes towards him sharply.

"Mother," he repeated with a more becoming volume and apologetic tone for having raised his voice. "I appreciate all of this, I really do. But as much as I would love to go and see her, it's simply not that straightforward. I'm not sure where she lives! That is to say that I know the name of the village, but where exactly…"

"She lives in a sweet little cottage, next to the local church. It has a small garden to the front with a white dove cote, and the dwelling itself is named Strawberry something or other I believe."

Draco stared again at his mother in disbelief.

"How…? You...? Mother, how do you know that?' he asked incredulously.

"I paid her a visit one afternoon, after the gala, to thank her for all her assistance and to take her a small token of my appreciation. Your father managed to get the address for me by calling in a favour. Unfortunately, I didn't keep a note of the address, but I assure you Draco, it will be unmistakable to you. She lives in a mostly muggle village so you will feel a magical signature as soon as you draw near."

"You went to visit her?"

"Yes I did. She didn't seem herself at the time, unfortunately. Rather...distracted and well... _depressed_ I suppose, poor dear. Not too dissimilar to yourself at that time as I recall."

Draco felt a pang of guilt in his heart as he recalled how Hermione had described how hard it had been for her to get over him. It seemed so futile that they had both sent all those weeks in an unnecessary state of anguish following their misunderstanding. He breathed in deeply and closed his eyes as he got his feelings in check, before opening his eyes with a snap.

"Truly!" he called out as he approached the mirror on his armoire and began checking his appearance. The elf materialised in an instant.

"Bring me mother's posy please, and…" he continued as he marched into his ensuite bathroom to begin to freshen up. "...find for me the nearest public floo point for the village of Lower Wickstead."

Narcissa Malfoy gave a little giggle and clapped her hands together with delight, before leaving her son to prepare for his quest ahead.


	14. Chapter 14

~**fourteen**~

Having quickly freshened up and made a rough job of smartening up his hair a little, Draco soon found himself standing in front of the reception room fireplace at the manor. He was clutching his mother's posy of flowers as he thought intently about what he was about to do.

'This is it,' he whispered to himself with determination. 'Don't fuck it up this time."

He reached out and grasped a handful of the shimmering, green floo powder that was held in an elaborate, pewter cornucopia at the side of the mantle. Stepping into the grate and turning to face the room, he caught sight of his mother who was standing in the doorway, smiling fondly.

Draco gave her a warm smile in return before igniting the powder and calling out the name of the pub, which hosted the public floo in Hermione's village.

Cool green flames engulfed him and he soon knew it was time to exit, as the fire died away to reveal an unfamiliar scene before him.

Stepping out onto the creaky, wooden floorboards, Draco was instantly reminded of The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. The room was cosy, with chunky wooden benches and tables and it had that familiar aroma that traditional wizarding pubs always carried - ale, pipe tobacco and old magic.

"Afternoon!" came a cheery, female voice from behind the bar.

Draco startled as he took in the sight of the friendly and matronly witch. She had long, black, curly hair and he was reminded instantly of Madame Rosmerta. As he stared at her, his heart skipped a beat with the deepest regret that he associated with those dreadful memories.

"You alright sweetheart?" she asked, going to make her way around the bar and towards him.

Shaken from his stupor, Draco immediately got his feelings back in check and gave her his brightest smile.

"Absolutely fine, thank you Miss." he replied, earning himself a blush from his purposeful flattery of the older witch. "I'm just passing through actually, but may I say, given different circumstances, I would love to stay. This is a charming place you have here."

"Well!" she exclaimed with delight. "Did you hear that, Bert?" she shouted to the ancient looking wizard who was perched at the bar. "This young man says it's charming here! Isn't that nice of him?"

The wizard idly turned his attention from the tankard of foaming ale that he was nursing. He gazed at him with a bored expression, but Draco soon spotted a moment of recognition that fleeted across his wrinkled eyes as he took in his blond hair and face. Draco smiled at the gent warmly, waiting anxiously for the penny to drop and for the old man to out him as the famous Malfoy pariah.

The old wizard sucked on his pipe as his eyes looked Draco up and down, taking in his jeans, polo-shirt and scruffy trainers. He gave his pipe another suck before he nodded briefly and returned back to his drink. Clearly Draco's new found fondness for casual, muggle clothing was doing him a great deal of service in helping him to go about the wider wizarding world unnoticed.

"They for someone special?" the witch enquired, nodding with a smirk towards his mother's flowers.

"Oh. Ah… yes. Something of a surprise visit, actually," he replied, looking down at the flowers and blowing off a small amount of floo powder that had gathered there.

Draco then turned back to the fireplace, looking for the donation box that he knew such places kept at the fireside for travellers to make a contribution. Upon spotting it, he quickly took out a ten galleon coin and dropped it in.

"Well… thanks!" he called out as he made his way swiftly to the door. He was far too preoccupied with his mission to track down Hermione to notice the shocked and wide-eyed expression on the witch's face.

She scurried across to the fireplace box to see if her eyes had deceived her.

"Whoever she is, she's a lucky girl" the witch whispered to herself, removing the shiny and generous coin and holding it up with wonder as the pub door closed with a click.

Stepping out onto the cobblestone pavement at the front of the pub, Draco paused to take in his surroundings. He appeared to be on the outskirts of a small, country hamlet, with very few dwellings in the nearby lanes. He looked further afield as the lane dropped down a small incline. In the distance he could see the steeple of a small church sticking up from behind a row of tall trees and a few more roofs and chimneys.

Taking a breath, he set off at a brisk pace, muttering "Strawberry something, next to the church…" as he strode purposefully along the hedgerow lined track.

It was a warm and humid day, and the quaintness of the little village wasn't lost on Draco. He passed by little cottages and shops upon entering what appeared to be the main part of the village. The church was a beautiful stone structure and the bells were just chiming four o clock as he passed the steps leading up to its enormous, wooden doorway.

Continuing on, he followed the path around a slight corner, becoming suddenly aware of a magical signature in the air. It was a very obvious sensation given that muggle dwellings were all around. This was a sure sign of a magically warded property nearby.

As the path straightened up ahead, he was greeted by a row of three terraced cottages, each with a small garden at the front. The very first cottage had a little white dovecote in the middle of the square lawn and had a honeysuckle trailing around the front porch and window. A little painted sign at the side of the door read "Strawberry Fields."

"Granger." Draco said quietly to himself with a smile.

He unlatched the little wrought iron gate and made his way along the path towards the front door. His heart had begun to pound uncontrollably as he realised he hadn't really planned what he was going to say when Hermione answered the door.

Standing at the porch and considering his options, he was suddenly distracted by a voice coming from nearby.

"I'm afraid you're out of luck, mate!"

Draco turned to see Hermione's neighbour smiling at him over the dividing hedge. He was somewhat disconcerted to find that the man was topless, proudly showing off his rather sunburnt and protruding gut. He appeared to be holding a ginormous scissor - like contraption, which Draco quickly presumed to be some muggle device for cutting the branches and leaves.

"Oh. Hello!" Draco greeted with a slightly disappointed tone. "She's gone out then, has she?"

"Not exactly, mate. She's gone to stay with some friends in London for a while. Called round yesterday to ask us to feed her cat and water her plants."

"Oh. Right."

Draco couldn't help but smile to himself at Granger's efforts to maintain a convincing, muggle facade with her neighbours, when she could easily just use a watering charm or floo back to her cottage to see to the cat. Hermione's tendencies to stick to muggle habits and ways of doing things was one of the many things he had grown to love about her.

"London you say?" he clarified, taking a step forward as the man wiped his sweaty brow with the back of his hand.

"Yep. I take it she wasn't expecting you then?"

"No. We're… old school friends. I was just in the area and thought I'd call."

"Right. Tough luck there then. It's not like you can just pop over to London, is it?"

Draco couldn't help but chuckle, knowing he could in fact 'just pop' almost anywhere he wished as long as the place was known to him.

"No. No I definitely can't do that. Ah well… I'll be off then. Thanks anyway!" Draco called as he headed back through the gate and towards the church. His spirits were lifted once more as he had quickly realised that he knew _exactly_ who those friends were that she would be staying with in London. And moreover, he could apparate there directly, having visited a certain Great Aunt Walburga as a young child.

Draco glanced around the village, as he started to plan his next move. He would first of all need to apparate safely from the village, away from muggle eyes. The village was quiet with only a small number of people around the few shops, and there was a young couple sitting outside a muggle pub just across from the church. Draco's eyes were then drawn to the shady graveyard of the church, well shielded from muggle view by the tall horse chestnut trees that surrounded it.

Glancing across once more at the couple outside the pub who had now noticed Draco's out of place behaviour, he gave them a smile and a small wave of his mother's lillies before heading up the stone steps to the churchyard. The couple smiled back before returning to their pints and conversation, clearly assuming that Draco was visiting a relative's grave to lay some flowers and pay his respects.

Walking further into the churchyard, he was satisfied to find the place quietly deserted. The rustle of the trees above and the merry chirping of birds were the only sounds as he began to visualise the memory of his Great Aunt's London townhouse. Narcissa has always disliked using the floo into Grimmauld Place as it was badly kept and they always ended up dirty with floo-soot.

He remembered the enclosed public green that was opposite the house. He focused sharply on the small patch of grass behind an enclosed muggle seating area there, that he and his mother had always apparated to. With a silent prayer that the place was still the same after all these years, he apparated with a pop, just as the bell in the church steeple was ringing out a quarter past four.

He unfortunately arrived, rather unceremoniously, into a generous - sized bush that had since grown in his chosen apparition point. Cursing and stumbling, he made his way out, dusting off the leaves and debris from his clothes as he emerged from behind the shelter. Two young girls who were passing by, paused and stared at him with startled expressions for a moment, before giggling and scurrying away quickly.

Looking around the green, Draco was satisfied to see that apart from himself and the teenage girls, the place was empty. He soon recognised the smart row of tall townhouses that formed a crescent adjacent to the green, and made his way along the path that led towards them.

His eyes focused on the identical, Georgian doorways as he racked his brain, trying desperately to recall what number his aunt had lived at. The houses looked so similar, and he realised he would need to approach each one to see if he could detect a magical signature of warding nearby if he wanted to stand any chance of finding the right one.

He was just approaching the gateway to the green when a movement at one of the doorways stopped him in his tracks. He quickly moved to the side to allow himself to watch more covertly, as Potter and the Weaslette emerged from the door of number twelve. Potter jogged down the small flight of stairs to the pavement below. He had a black labrador dog on a lead who bounded and barked playfully, as Ginny Weasley called back into the house.

"You sure you don't want to come, Hermione? The walk will do you good."

Draco listened carefully but couldn't hear her reply. It was soon apparent that Hermione would not be joining them, however, as Ginny called back: "Okay, see you in a bit!" and briskly jogged down the steps to join her fiance.

There was a muffled sound of metal bolts magically sliding into place as the door was locked and warded behind them. Ginny mussed Potter's already ridiculous hair and pecked him on the lips before they headed off along the pavement.

Draco watched them and gave out a sigh of relief as they turned the corner at the end of the crescent and disappeared out of sight, thankful that they hadn't decided to exercise their dog on the green.

Spying his chance to talk to Hermione alone, he made his way through the gateway and across the narrow road. He stopped at the bottom of the steps at the front of number twelve and looked up at the tall townhouse in front of him, with its gated mews to the left of the stone steps. It certainly looked a lot different to how he remembered it!

The door was a smart, deep blue colour with its cheery stone and glass arch above. The panes of the many windows were clean and sparkling and the shabby and foreboding sense that Draco recalled from his childhood was long gone.

Draco recalled how the main living areas were actually on the first floor of these three storey town houses, although there was a little snug room off the main hallway with a window at the front to the left of the door. Draco climbed the steps and leaned over across the railings towards the window to see if he could catch a glimpse of Hermione inside the little room. Leaning ever closer, he suddenly lost his balance and found himself toppling forwards, headfirst towards the mews below.

He let out a strangled 'Fuck!' as he gripped the railings for dear life while he regained his balance and managed to hoist himself back onto the steps , taking a few paces backwards to steady himself. Little did he know that the commotion had drawn some attention to himself from within, and a pair of amber eyes were now peering down through the first floor window above to see what was going on.

Draco huffed out a deep breath and began to straighten out his jacket, checking on the posy of flowers that had now started to become a little squashed and looking worse for wear. He took out his wand and covertly performed a refreshing charm on them, giving them a little shake, regretting not using the shrinking charm to keep the flowers more safely stowed away in his pocket as he had done earlier.

"For fuck's sake, Draco, just go and knock on the bloody door!" he berated himself, striding with forced confidence up the stairs to the large door.

Raising his hand to the brass knocker, his eyes couldn't help but peer through the small glass panel of the door and inside to the hallway beyond. He stopped suddenly as he made out the silhouette of someone standing at the end of the darkened passageway.

Hermione.

Their eyes locked on each other in an instant and he was overcome with a wave of longing and emotion like he had never felt before. She slowly began to walk towards the door, and Draco could make out more and more of her beautiful features with every step as she emerged into the light shining through the arched glass window above.

Pausing at the other side of the door she stared intently into his eyes with a look of disbelief. Draco raised his eyebrows and smiled with the most minute quirk of his lips in an unspoken and apologetic greeting. He felt a familiar thrum of magic radiate around him as she lifted the wards.

Not taking her eyes from him for a second, she reached for the latch, turning it slowly for what felt like an eternity. She gave it a tug and Draco braced himself for the moment of finally being face to face with her.

The door vibrated but did not open.

Hermione tugged again urgently, causing the door to rattle, but still it remained closed. Breaking her gaze from Draco's eyes, he saw her give a little frustrated huff before reaching for her wand.

"Try the bottom one," Draco suggested, shouting through the door and pressing his forehead against the glass as he gestured downwards with his eyes.

Hermione looked at him briefly before her eyes travelled downwards. She crouched down, momentarily disappearing from sight, as the sound of a metal bolt being opened came from within. A second later, she was back on her feet and looking deeply into his eyes again through the small glass window. She turned the latch, pulling the door wide open with determined finality.

A gust of a summer's breeze whipped into the open hallway, making Hermione's hair dance wildly all around her. Draco sighed and stood open mouthed, taking in the sight of her, clutching the posy of flowers before him.

"Granger, I...I need to.." he began before trailing off again, cursing himself for not planning this part more precisely.

"Oh, fuck it…" he whispered to himself with assertion before marching forwards across the threshold. He locked his eyes on her parted lips, and pulling her swiftly towards him, he finally kissed her.

He kissed her in the way that he had always imagined his first kiss with Hermione would be. Not that drunken, sloppy lunge or the bitterly emotional revenge kiss from that fateful night at the flat. But a softly tender and yet passionate kiss. A kiss that poured into her all those unspoken words and feelings that he had been holding onto for all this time.

He dropped the posy to the floor and it rolled softly down the stone steps and onto the pavement below as he gripped her hip to pull her more closely. His other hand travelled softly upwards to the nape of her neck, buried in the soft curls of her mane. She whimpered softly into his mouth and pressed her body against him.

Draco let out a soft hum and pushed her slowly backwards towards the wall of the hallway, and in doing so knocked the corner of the console table that stood nearby. A framed photograph of a little blonde haired baby went crashing to the floor, sending glass pieces skittering across the tiled surface, and shaking Draco and Hermione from their passionate embrace.

"Shit, sorry," Draco stated mutely as he pulled out his wand, quickly repairing the damage and returning the frame to its place.

"Cute kid," he remarked, straightening the frame in position.

"Yes. That's our beautiful Victoire - Ginny's niece."

The pair stood face to face in silence for a moment, taking each other in and unsure how to proceed. It was Hermione that broke the silence first.

"So… you...you're here."

"Yes."

"And this means ... things have changed?"

Draco smiled momentarily before bobbing his head from side to side in a non committal gesture.

"Well… yes and no."

Hermione drew away slightly in confusion and Draco, realising his error immediately stepped forwards, taking hold of her hand and dipping his head to gaze earnestly into her eyes as he spoke.

"Of course _some_ things have changed, Hermione. For one, I've realised that my father is not to be trusted and is still the same egotistical pig he always was. And secondly, I've parted ways with Astoria. She'd got these big plans to change me and was never going to accept me for the person that I've become."

Hermione gave a small smile and he reached out to take her other hand.

"But most importantly Hermione, that person that I've become, this… this… muggle music loving, record store owning, dabbling in healership studies on the side, messed - up pureblood,, t-shirt wearing wizard, is completely and utterly mad about you and has been for the longest time. Since that night we ran into each other at Warlocks. And.. who am I kidding?! Even since eighth year back at Hogwarts, Granger, it's always been you. That most certainly has not changed and honestly Hermione, it never did."

"So… what you said yesterday, about having moved on..?"

"...was complete bollocks, Granger. I never moved on. I was fooling myself with Astoria. And what I said to you at the gala, about being drunk and regretting kissing you? God's Hermione, I definitely wanted to kiss you. I always want to kiss you. Although I do regret how drunk I was and the oafish way I handled myself that night."

"And I'm sorry for how I explained things at the gala too!" Hermione added in earnest.

"I mean, I _did_ regret the way I kissed you that night to get back at Justin, but not just because it was wrong to use you! I regretted that our first kiss would be in those circumstances, Draco. I'd started to think that Justin wasn't the one for me and had been hoping that something would happen between us, once I'd ended things officially."

Draco's eyes sparkled with emotion, and he reached once more to cup her face, placing a soft kiss on Hermione's lips, just as the pair were almost bowled over by a large, black object that came barging through the doorway and into the hall.

Still holding Hermione in a close embrace, Draco looked around with confusion to see Potter's dog scampering around whilst Potter and the Weaslette stood at the bottom of the steps. Potter was holding the posy of lilies and both of their mouths were agape in shock and confusion.

Ginny's face gradually lit up with a mischievous grin as she looked expectantly from Hermione to Draco and back again.

"We… we've come out without Fluffy's favourite ball." Harry stammered. " You know what he's like. A transfigured rock just won't do."

Hermione's cheeks flushed with a rosy bloom as she reached into a bowl on the table and produced a rather battered looking, bright yellow rubber ball.

Fluffy caught sight of it and began barking excitedly and jumping around as she tossed it casually down the stairs, Harry's free hand shooting out to catch it with effortless seeker precision. Fluffy bounded down the stairs in hot pursuit.

"Too tired to come for a walk eh, Hermione?" Ginny chimed with a knowing smirk. "You certainly do look like you're getting ready for a '_lie down_!'" she continued with a suggestive raise of her eyebrows.

Draco looked back at Hermione, whose blush was deepening as she gave Ginny a killer glare.

With a low chuckle, he kissed the back of her hand that he was still holding and told her that he needed to go.

"I should've been back at the shop ages ago," he explained, making his way reluctantly down the steps as Ginny and Harry stepped aside to let him pass. He took the posy of flowers from Potter, and turned to face Hermione who was now standing in the doorway again. She was leaning against the frame and he tossed the flowers up for her to catch. The summer breeze whipped around her again causing the sun dress she was wearing to billow softly and her curls to dance wildly as she smelled their delicate fragrance. Draco took a steadying breath at the glorious sight of her.

"I'll owl you tomorrow? And maybe, we can go out somewhere together?" he asked hopefully, his face lighting up with a beaming smile as she nodded in agreement.

"That sounds perfect."

And unabashed by their new audience, he muttered; "Oh fuck it all," before launching himself back up the steps taking them two at a time, before taking Hermione into his arms for one last searing kiss.

"Oh, bloody hell fire!" came the sound of Harry's voice from below, which Draco patently ignored. He was far too focused on the delicious feel and the taste of Hermione, determined to remember every second of this moment until they could be together again. They pulled apart just as Harry began to complain some more.

"Malfoy, didn't you just say that you have somewhere to be? I mean, I don't know how much longer I can stand seeing you two do _that_ on my own doorstep!"

They giggled quietly at Harry's chagrin as Draco gently pressed his forehead against hers, whispering: "Tomorrow then?"

"Tomorrow.'

And with that, he took a step away from her, turned to give Potter one of his best, trademark smirks just for old time's sake, and promptly apparated back to Diagon Alley, his heart soaring with a long overdue feeling of joy and expectation.


	15. Chapter 15

~**fifteen**~

Draco stood once more at the porch of Strawberry Fields cottage. It was another gloriously sunny day and he knew that arriving at the front door, rather than by floo, would be the best way to surprise her.

"Hello again!" came the cheery voice of Hermione's neighbour from over the hedge once again.

"Oh, hello," Draco replied, pleased to see that the man was wearing more clothes than at their last encounter.

"Think you might have more luck this time mate!" the neighbour commented, gesturing towards the cottage with a sideways bob of his head.

"Ah, yes. Thanks!" Draco replied as he stepped up onto the porch and rang the little bell that hung there.

He stood back and waited with excitement as the sound of her approach came from within.

She opened the door and stood in stunned silence for a moment as she took in Draco's unexpected arrival at her front door.

She was dressed in a pair of denim shorts, and was wearing a pretty, white, broderie anglaise cami top under a loose open buttoned tunic. Her bare legs were tanned and Draco had to force himself not to ogle openly at the way her delicately cupped breasts were just peeking out from above her cami top.

"Happy birthday!" he announced happily, holding up the basket in front of him.

"Draco? What are you doing?' Hermione asked, as she lifted the wards and stepped forwards.

"It's not my birthday for another six weeks!"

"Yes, I know that," he replied, walking towards her and giving her a lazy peck on the lips.

"But… I seem to recall that your last birthday was something of a horrible shit-show. Apart from you getting to kiss a spectacularly handsome wizard and Justin getting to experience an ingenious bit of hex work of course."

Hermione rolled her eyes playfully, before taking his hand and pulling him inside the cottage, shutting the door behind them.

''Well, yes. I suppose it was a disaster," she admitted as they walked through to the little kitchen at the back of the house.

"So?"

"So I figured, it was time that you got your _actual_ birthday picnic. The perfect one that I had planned out for you back then."

Hermione leaned back against the kitchen counter with an arched eyebrow and arms folded.

"You mean the picnic that Justin was going to take me on?"

"Absolutely fucking not!" Draco replied sharply.

"That cretin was all set to try to impress you with canapés, champagne and meaningless expense. The only good thing about his plans were the books."

"Which you suggested to him in the first place?"

"Well, yes, of course."

"So this picnic… is nothing like Justin's. And you think I will love it?"

"Yes," he replied, moving closer to her and leaning in for another kiss. She dodged away from it with a smirk.

"Draco Malfoy, it's beginning to sound like you think I am a cheap date."

Draco pulled away and regarded her with a bemused expression.

"Granger, there is a distinct difference between expense and class. The latter of which Finchley knew nothing of. Whereas I..." he trailed off, leaning in towards her once more, "... the pure blooded Malfoy heir that I am, have class and sophistication oozing from my every pore."

She giggled and pushed him away slightly, before looking down at his shoes.

"Oh really? And is that why you've got a massive hole in your trainers then? To let all that class and sophistication ooze out?"

Draco pouted and shot her his puppy dog eyes. "Hey! Don't diss the Converse. They're my favourite pair!"

She rolled her eyes in disbelief and amusement at his muggle tastes, and giggled at the thought of the younger, snobbier and prejudiced Draco strutting around Hogwarts in a pair of scruffy muggle trainers. She eventually took his hand and lead him to the door.

"Well come on then, Mr '_Heir To The Sodding Malfoy Fortune'_. Let's see what you're made of!"

He grabbed the basket that he had set down on the kitchen table and followed her back out of the cottage. Stepping through the garden gate, Draco waved to the next door neighbour with a cheerful grin as they passed.

The neighbour called out: "Bye mate! Nice to see you again!" to Draco, earning a puzzled glance from Hermione as they made their way on through the village.

They rounded the corner by the church and passed the shops, almost bumping into the couple that had clocked Draco's odd behaviour a couple of weeks earlier.

"Lovely day!" Draco said as he and Hermione stepped to the side letting them pass.

"Yes it is, isn't it?" the gentleman replied with a smile.

Hermione shook her head in confusion at the odd way that Draco seemed to know the people of Lower Wickstead.

They walked up the hill that led out of the village and past The Cackling Toad pub where Draco had used the public floo a couple of weeks earlier. The friendly landlady was just outside, pouring a bucket of mop water down the grid at the kerbside as they passed.

She shouted a cheery: "Hello young man!" to Draco as he smiled broadly at her from across the road. She then proceeded to invite them both in for a pint of Butterbeer. Draco politely refused, before promising the lady that they would indeed call in some other time.

Hermione was now gawping at Draco as they strolled along, before her curiosity finally got the better of her.

"Alright then, I give in! Tell me just exactly how these people all seem to know you? You seem to be on speaking terms with as many of the locals as I am - and I've been living here for eighteen months!"

Draco laughed and took great pleasure in regaling her with the tale of his first visit to Lower Wickstead and how it had led to him eventually tracking her down at Grimmauld Place.

In the short time since that day, Draco and Hermione had been out on a handful of dates. They had been out for both evening and midweek lunchtime drinks, and he had taken her out for a lovely meal the weekend before, with them both heading back to Vinyl Resting Place afterwards. There they had played music, talked easily and even had a little dance, before she bid him goodnight with a passionate kiss at the floo.

And Draco had never felt happier. His business venture up at Hogsmeade was already taking shape, with the new shop due to open in a week's time and the patenting and testing of his potion was all going ahead swiftly. He knew that he was completely besotted by the curly haired witch who was currently holding his hand and laughing merrily at his hilarious description of his unfortunate crash landing into the bushes of Grimmauld Green.

He led Hermione over a nearby stile and they followed a narrow footpath up to the top of a grassy meadow which looked down over the village below. The view was stunning with the rolling English countryside all around and they quickly found a good spot among the long grass to set down their blanket and get comfortable.

Hermione kicked off her pumps as Draco began to unpack the picnic.

"You hungry?" he asked as he noticed her craning her neck to catch a glimpse of what might be hidden inside the wicker basket.

"Yes, I am actually. And rather thirsty too, after the walk up here."

"Thirsty, you say?" Draco asked with faux interest.

"Well then, it's a good job I brought...THIS along!" he announced, producing a magically chilled bottle of Dandelion and Burdock from the basket along with a pair of enamel camping mugs.

Hermione gasped in surprise as she took in the sight of the dark brown liquid of her childhood.

"Dandelion and Burdock!" she cried, looking from Draco to the fizzy pop and back again.

"You...you remembered that?"

"Well yes. Of course I did. I happen to be a very good listener, Granger," he admitted, filling the mugs and passing her the drink before chinking it with his own.

"Cheers!"

"Cheers," Hermione replied. "To us."

Draco smiled at her toast and leaned in to give her a soft kiss. He pulled back and looked softly into her eyes.

"To us."

They both took a swig of their drink, Draco instantly grimacing and complaining loudly that Muggles have the strangest tastes. He stuck out his tongue and proclaimed that it tasted like a strange herbal potion his mother used to give him for mouth ulcers.

He then proceeded to unpack the remainder of his specially selected picnic, including sausage rolls and egg and cress sandwiches, all deliciously home made by Truly and Loxey. They tucked in hungrily to their little feast.

"This has been perfect," Hermione said, once they had had their fill. She was sat cross-legged, making a daisy chain, using her hair grip to poke the holes in the spindly little stems. "I can't believe you remembered all this stuff!"

Draco had been watching her threading her daisies with a bemused expression, taking careful note of this newly revealed muggle tradition of hers.

"You deserve nothing less."

They smiled at each other briefly before leaning across the picnic blanket to each other for another kiss. Their lips caressed each other softly as Hermione's hair blew forwards on the summer hilltop breeze.

"Argh, this bloody mane of yours!" he moaned as he brushed her hair swiftly away from her face with a smile.

Hermione laughed and picked up the metal grip that lay on the blanket next to her daisy chain. She effortlessly twisted and clipped back the front sections of her wayward locks.

"There. Better?"

Draco used the question as a moment to stare openly at her. By the gods, she was beautiful.

"It's hard to improve on perfection, Granger." he replied, quietly.

She blushed softly and looked away with an embarrassed smile, turning her attention to the picnic basket that lay at Draco's side.

"So… what other surprises have you got in there for me?"

Draco immediately whipped the basket out of her reach so as not to ruin the surprises contained within.

"Wellll… how about we 'chuck a ball around'?" he asked, taking out a tiny little football and using his wand to return it to its normal size.

Hermione's eyes lit up and she grabbed the ball from his hands, quickly standing up to slip her shoes back on.

"Excellent. Come on then, Quidditch star."

Draco jumped up to join her and they spent an enjoyable half hour kicking and throwing the ball to each other as they chatted away. She tried to do some 'keepy-uppies' and managed a respectable six in a row, which Draco was determined to beat, even though he couldn't get past two. Hermione laughed heartily as the ball went continually rolling away from them down the hill, with Draco cursing and swearing as he went chasing after it for the umpteenth time.

Eventually, the heat got the better of them and they returned back to their picnic blanket to lie down and to have a drink, Draco choosing aguamenti rather than sullying his mouth with that filthy muggle mouthwash again.

Hermione sat between Draco's legs and leaned back against his chest as she sipped her Dandelion and Burdock, taking in the view of the village below - the copse around the church and the little roofs and chimneys that were visible further afield, and the colourful fields and meadows beyond.

"I have one more surprise for you." Draco announced quietly, as he reached inside the basket.

He pulled out another small object, the size of a matchbox, that he proceeded to return to its normal size. It was a portable cassette player.

Hermione turned slightly to look at Draco, her eyes full of expectation. Giving her a warm smile he pressed the chunky play button down with a 'clunk' and the hillside air was filled with the happy guitar melody of 'Here Comes The Sun'.

Hermione closed her eyes with a smile filled with emotion, before she opened them with a sigh. Draco took her into his arms and whispered gently against her ear: "We're going to get them back. It won't be long." She nodded silently, resting her head back in the crook of his neck as they listened in intent silence to Draco's perfect song choice, before the rest of Abbey Road followed.

"You know, there is something missing from this picnic," Draco admitted as he absent mindedly toyed with and twisted a lock of Hermione's hair around his finger.

Hermione sat up and tuned to face him more fully with a puzzled expression.

"Oh yes? And what's that?"

"I didn't bring any book for us to read. I know you said you and your parents always used to read books together on your picnics, but, I had no idea what to bring this time. I tried to think of books that you would enjoy but honestly, the thought of shrinking down everything ever printed since the invention of books wasn't very appealing."

Hermione slapped him playfully at his comments.

"Well, I suppose that is a shame," she continued with a mock - thoughtful tone.

"I guess…" she said as she shifted her position so that she sat directly between his legs, facing him fully, with her legs hitched over his on either side. "...we'll just have to find something else to do instead."

And with that she placed her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.

Draco accepted her assertiveness hungrily, and returned the kiss with a fervour to match her own.

He slid his hands around her bum and pulled her up, so that she was sitting in his lap and straddling him, before allowing his hands to wander under her open tunic top, and up the sides of her slender waist. His hands glided across the delicate fabric of her cami top and he grazed his thumbs softly across the fullness of her breasts, finding her nipples hardened with excitement.

She gave a soft moan into his mouth, before rolling her hips to grind herself against him, increasing the contact there. Draco let out a breath as she rubbed herself against him, and began to kiss her hungrily down the column of her neck.

Hermione tossed her head back, allowing him better access, as he slid her tunic top off her shoulders, its cotton fabric pooling around her elbows. He kissed and licked his way down and along her collar bone, intoxicated by the feel and delicate smell of her.

Suddenly, she moved again, this time to the side, to lay down next to him, pulling him down over her slightly.

He looked deeply into her amber eyes for a moment before kissing her open mouth with a fire raging inside him, their tongues dancing and tasting each other deeply.

He almost cried out when she unexpectedly reached down and stroked and squeezed his engorged length through the thick denim fabric of his jeans, and had to take a moment to get himself in check, to save making an embarrassment of himself.

He instead returned to his earlier ministrations at her neck and chest, placing soft kisses along the curve of her breasts that were now proudly swelling out at the top of the lacy cups of her top.

He allowed his free hand to smooth gentle circles on the soft skin of her tummy, below her cami top, travelling gradually lower with each turn. He could feel her writhe slightly as his fingertips dipped slowly under the waistband of her shorts, making contact with the skin under the fabric of her knickers.

Pausing to look in her eyes and to check he wasn't overstepping the mark he slowly undid her button and zip, dipping his hand down over the soft white cotton of her knickers and slowly drawing his middle finger back up along the damp seam that he could feel beneath.

Draco watched with awe as Hermione closed her eyes and gnawed her lip, letting out a guttural moan of abandon at his touch and dropped down to kiss her open mouth with passion once more.

Down in the village, the church bell rang out three o clock, and Hermione suddenly paused pulling away from him and sitting up. Draco lay back staring at the sky for a few moments, catching his breath.

"I'm sorry… I went too far…" he began, but was quickly cut off by Hermione who was straightening her top at his side.

"It's three o clock, Draco, and I've got to be over at Ginny's by half past. We're picking up the bridesmaids' dresses."

She turned around and pulled him up to a sitting position, facing her once more.

"You definitely don't need to apologise, for _that_," she whispered in his ear before standing up and stretching her arms widely.

"Although I could probably do with a shower now, before I go trying on my dress," she added with a smirk.

Draco looked up at Hermione as she stood in the long grass, blue sky behind her and the wind tossing her hair wildly all around. She was a vision of perfection and looking at her still-taut nipples was doing nothing to abate his raging hard-on.

He focused instead on beginning to pack everything away, and soon the pair were walking briskly back down into the village, Hermione filling Draco in on all the details of Ginny and Harry's wedding that was taking place next weekend.

As they were stepping through the doorway of Hermione's cottage, she paused and turned to him with an expectant smile.

"I… I don't actually have a guest to take to the wedding, Draco. And… Harry and Ginny are fine with it, but … I understand completely if you don't think it's appropriate, or it'd be too weird for you, but I'd..."

"I'd love to be there for you," he replied before she had a chance to finish.

"Are you sure?" she asked with trepidation. "I mean, we'll be staying over at The Burrow. And all the Weasleys and the last of The Order will be there and… and they've done a deal with the press so I'm afraid, their photographers will be there… for a short time at least..."

"Granger. I wouldn't care if the Dark Lord himself turned up for the soul purpose of catching the bouquet. As long as I'm with you, I will be perfectly happy."

Draco watched as her beautiful face lit up with a relieved smile, before leaning in for one last kiss.

"Happy bridesmaid-ing!" he said with a grin as he pulled away from her lips.

"Just be careful you don't go upstaging the Weasel bride!"

"Well, I've seen her dress, and there will definitely be no upstaging happening. Ginny is going to look beautiful"

"Mmm-hmm, sure," he nodded with a smirk. "And yet every hot-blooded male in the room is bound to be staring at you and your delectable arse," he said, playfully giving her bum a tap.

"Draco!" Hermione complained with a half groan, half laugh as he stepped away from her, still holding her hand.

The more time he spent with Hermione, the more Draco realised that his confidence was growing around her and he was starting to feel more and more like his old self.

He brought her hand to his lips to give it a quick kiss, before joyfully apparating back home. His head was reeling with the realisation that he, Draco Malfoy, would be a guest at Saint Potter's wedding, and moreover, that he would be spending the whole day, and most likely the whole night, with Hermione Granger.


	16. Chapter 16

~sixteen~

The date was Saturday 11th August 2001. A date much anticipated in the wizarding world. The Daily Prophet had been running articles tracking the timeline leading up to this historic event for most of the year. Witch Weekly had been full of speculation about venue decor, colour schemes and most importantly, _the_ _dress_.

Harry and Ginny had chosen The Burrow as the venue for their nuptials in an attempt to create a feeling of closeness and intimacy around the whole event.

After the furore surrounding the announcement of their engagement, it was clear however, that the media and its hungry readers would not allow their special day to take place with the quiet privacy that they had hoped for.

Earlier in the year, their seemingly 'secluded' engagement party had ended up being infiltrated by wizarding paparazzi, with unbecoming photos splashed all over the usual rags.

Ginny and Harry had reluctantly realised that the best thing would be for them to invite the press along for some exclusive shots at their discretion, hoping to satisfy their appetite for all things wizarding celebrity. This would then allow them to shrewdly draw up contracts binding the press to their deal, and ensuring that they towed the line.

Harry was extremely bitter about the whole thing. He had never forgiven The Prophet for their treatment of him in the past and made sure that it was only The Quibbler that had exclusive access to the ceremony itself and celebrations that followed.

He allowed for the wider press to have access to a few very staged, photograph opportunities that he and Ginny had carefully selected and was prepared to rage war on any that overstepped the mark.

On their most recent date, Hermione had told Draco that the media frenzy surrounding Harry and Ginny's wedding was becoming comparable to that of a Royal Wedding in the muggle world, and had confessed that she was beginning to feel rather anxious about the whole thing.

Draco immediately felt a sense of empathy for the situation. He recalled how relentlessly those journalists had hounded him and his mother, albeit during much darker and depressing times, after his father's incarceration in Azkaban and during the trials following the war.

He had asked Hermione if she was sure that she was happy to have him there. His presence at the wedding was bound to cause something of a stir and he himself was starting to feel uncomfortable that it might be a horrible distraction from the happy event itself.

Hermione had laughed then at the realisation that Harry and Ginny's happy acceptance of Draco at their wedding might have indeed been due a secondary benefit to themselves - drawing attention away from them and onto Draco. Hermione assured Draco that she was sure that everything would be fine.

Draco quietly decided to reserve judgement and determined to call on all his Slytherin shrewdness and pureblood privilege to come up with a way to alleviate the anxiety and stress around the whole situation.

And so the morning of the big day had arrived. Draco had got up early and enjoyed a pastry in the shop before Theo had arrived. They had arranged for him and Loxey to watch the shop that day, allowing for Draco to prepare for and to attend the wedding of the year.

Draco was standing in front of the long mirror that hung on the back of his bedroom door in the flat above Vinyl Resting Place. He was dressed in a muggle suit rather than heavy wizarding robes, having spotted them in a muggle menswear shop. He found the fabric light and smart and was impressed by the look of the waistcoat and trousers with the crisp white shirt.

He slipped on the matching jacket, just as Theo stepped through the door.

"Fucking hell, Draco! Get a load of you!"

Draco smirked to himself and turned to his bed to finish checking through his overnight bag, ensuring he had everything he needed for the day and night ahead. Security at the wedding was going to be a high priority, with strict, anti - apparition wards being placed all around The Burrow well before it was announced as the venue for Harry & Ginny 's wedding.

Floo access was also being heavily monitored and limited by strict invitation, with only one exit floo allowed the following day. All guests were required to stay overnight to help manage the security more tightly and Harry had had to reluctantly employ many of his auror colleagues to police the venue on the day, rather than have them there simply as his guests.

Because of the strict rules around the wedding, Draco didn't want to risk suddenly finding himself without his toothbrush or a change of clothes with no means of quickly heading home. He made sure to be extra meticulous about his belongings.

Theo clocked the carefully packed bag and walked over to sit on the bedside.

"You got your best PJ's in there mate?" he asked with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows.

"Or… perhaps you're hoping you won't need them?"

Draco paused and gave Theo his hardest death-stare.

"Funny, Theo. Hilarious."

"Oh, come on, Draco!' Theo said, enthusiastically bouncing on the bed with glee.

"This is clearly an _overnight_ bag! Don't try to tell me that you haven't thought about what that means for you and Granger?"

Draco sighed and sat down on the armchair next to the window in his room.

"There you go again, Theo. Are you sure you're not actually a teenage girl in disguise? Does Tracey know about your strange obsession with idol gossip and other peoples' sex lives?"

"Idol gossip?!" Theo called out with mockery.

"So you're telling me that a night of passion with Granger isn't on the cards then?"

Draco threw a cushion at Theo in protest at his friend's insistence on pursuing the subject of his first time with Hermione.

"Just leave it, will you?"

"Alright, alright. I'm just happy for you, Draco. I've not seen you this happy since… well since we were at school, before seventh year, okay?" he said, making his intended meaning clear.

"I want you to be happy."

Draco looked at his old friend, uncertain how to react to his forthright statement.

"I _am_ happy, Theo. I have zero intention of fucking this up," he said quietly.

"Good. So… maybe a double date could be on the cards. I think Tracey and Granger would get on actually. She's a big reader you know so at least they have that in common."

"Okay then, I promise we can arrange a double date as long as you agree to stop badgering me for details about my love life!"

Theo screwed up his nose at the idea of having to go easy on Draco at such a crucial time in his developing relationship with Hermione.

"Okay, deal," he agreed reluctantly, standing up and heading to the door.

"I can always badger Granger instead…" he suggested before quickly twisting and scurrying through the door, just about managing to dodge the stinging hex that Draco sent his way.

He was just about to begin his descent down the narrow staircase to the shop when he stopped in his tracks, walking backwards and calling out to Draco.

"Bloody hell, Malfoy! You taking a fucking entourage with you or what?!"

A large group of about ten dark and burly looking men made their way up the stairs. They all wore dark robes and had very serious looks on their faces.

Theo stood back against the wall as they passed him on the landing, Draco coming forward to greet them, stretching out his hand to shake that of the first man.

"Petrov?" he asked, shaking the man's hand firmly.

The man nodded curtly before briefly introducing his companions.

"So… as we agreed, we will rendezvous with the auror team at the venue and take over from them following their briefing, allowing them to partake in the wedding more fully, yes?"

"Yes, please." Draco replied, reaching inside his jacket and removing a pouch that weighed heavy with wizard gold, passing it to Petrov with confidence.

"Your deposit. The remainder will be paid tomorrow at the end of your shift, assuming a satisfactory service is received." Draco stated, firmly. "The Auror team are anticipating your arrival via my approved floo connection. And there will be extra coming your way if you could pay particular attention to the press that we discussed yesterday. I know I can expect the highest calibre of security and professionalism from your team. You did a sterling job at my mother's gala this year after all."

Petrov undid the pouch and glanced inside with an impressed quirk of his eyebrows.

"We will not let you down Mr Malfoy. Our company has been serving noble wizarding families for many years. It is an honour to continue to do business with the Malfoy family."

"Good to hear. Oh, and…" Draco continued, going back into the bedroom to shrink down his overnight bag, popping it inside his trouser pocket and heading back towards the landing.

"... Just to warn you, the wedding party knows nothing about this arrangement. It's something of a surprise wedding gift if you like, so I'd appreciate your discretion."

"Understood."

The rest of the security team briefly nodded their heads in assent before Draco turned back to Theo.

"Right, we'll be off then. Thanks for seeing to the shop for me again, Theo."

Theo was still standing back, staring openly at the mob of emotionless men before him.

"Merlin's balls, Draco. This is some impressive shit you're pulling here. And ...no worries about the shop. It's all good practice for when I'm managing the Hogsmeade branch," Theo said as Draco and his hired hands entered the living area and proceeded to floo to The Burrow.

Draco hummed in agreement. He was quietly excited and relieved that his best friend would be running his second shop for him. As much as Theo acted the fool, Draco knew he could trust him implicitly and smiled to himself as he reached the fireplace.

Draco was the last to leave and turning to face the room from the grate, he couldn't help but roll his eyes as Theo stuck his middle finger up at him in a parting gesture, just as the flames transported him to The Burrow.

He stepped from the bare brick fireplace of the Weasley residence and into a room of utter chaos.

The security mob was being whisked away by the auror team, just as Draco had arranged. Percy Weasley had clocked the alarming looking bunch of men but had quickly been assured by Harry's aurors that they were with them and not to worry. He was standing with the auror who had remained on Floo duty and was questioning him relentlessly about who the men were and if they had the correct credentials.

Draco nodded at the auror and flashed his wedding invitation that Hermione had had owled over to him that week. The auror nodded back and gave him a pained expression in response as Percy continued his barrage of questions.

There were people moving around and talking loudly everywhere. Flowers and trays of glassware were being levitated across the room and outside. Draco noted a red headed man who looked alot like a broader and stockier version of Ron Weasley, walking along with the little girl toddling along between his legs as he bent awkwardly to hold her hands to steady her. Draco suddenly recognised the little girl from the photo in Grimmauld Place that he had sent crashing to the floor.

"Yeah! That's it Vicky! Uncle Charlie will have you walking in no time."

Draco heard the floo firing up behind him and quickly stepped away from it, looking behind him to make sure he got out of the new arrivals' way, but in doing so, unexpectedly ended up bumping into someone who was just entering from upstairs.

"Oh, do excuse me madam…" he said, trailing off as his eyes widened at the sight of Molly Weasley before him. She was taking in his appearance with serious study.

"Well!" she exclaimed looking him up and down. "Draco Malfoy, as I live and breathe!"

"Ah, um, yes. Hello, Mrs Weasley," he stammered in greeting to the matriarch.

She was wearing a purple gown with pearls and a simple feather accessory in her unmistakable auburn hair.

"Now, come with me, come with me. Let me take a look at you," she announced, grasping him by the shoulders and dragging him over to the nearby window.

Draco could feel his face reddening and his composure faltering as she grasped his chin and turned his face to the light.

"Merlin's beard, if you aren't the image of your father at your age!" she declared. "And yes he was a very handsome young wizard too!" she continued with a knowing smirk.

"Bloody hell mum," came the familiar retort of Ron Weasley from the doorway. "Please don't tell me you had a crush on Malfoy's dad?"

"Oh do be quiet, Ron!" she chided before turning back to Draco, eying his smart suit and dusting off the traces of floo powder that had gathered on his shoulders.

"What a silly thing to say," she added as she continued to dust before pausing to look Draco directly in his eyes. ".._everyone_ had a crush on Lucius back in the day," she added with a wink.

"Gross." Ron added before rescuing Draco from his mothers' clutches.

"Come on, Malfoy. Let's get you away from my slightly inebriated mother and find you a buttonhole."

"Oh um, _thanks _I guess, Mrs Weasley. And might I say, you… you're looking very lovely!"

Ron hurriedly steered Draco towards the kitchen making a face of nausea as his mother blushed and giggled at Draco's compliments.

"For fuck's sake, Malfoy. Never mention that conversation to me ever again!" he declared as he reached inside a basket on the kitchen table and retrieved a simple yellow rose buttonhole.

The pair spent an awkward few moments as Ron tried to help Draco to attach it to the lapel of his jacket, the pair cursing and fiddling as it kept sagging downwards, checking it frequently in the mirror.

Draco hadn't noticed that a pair of amber eyes were watching them both with a sparkle of amusement from the stairwell.

"Sod this," Ron muttered, drawing his wand and pointing it at Draco's chest with a huff.

Draco instinctively withdrew a step and threw his hands up in submission.

"Woah, woah, woah, Weaselbee!" he warned. "Just watch it will you?"

"Yes Ronald, watch it," came a familiar female voice. "Last time you pointed your wand at Draco at such close range, you ended up burping up slugs for the next few hours. I really don't think that's a quality that Harry was looking for in his best man, do you?"

Both men turned to the direction of Hermione's voice, and stood stock-still as they took in the beautiful sight before them.

The bridesmaid dress that Ginny had chosen for her was a creamy yellow, strapless gown, with a fitted bodice that showed off her petite figure perfectly. The fabric had been magically embroidered with images and symbols of magical folklore, all associated with love, family, fertility and the promises of forever. The sparkling silks shimmered with enchantment with even the slightest movement.

Her hair was swept delicately back at the nape of her neck with a few loose curls framing her face as she giggled at the sight of her ex and now current boyfriend gawping at her in unison.

"Well," she continued stepping forward and effortlessly fixing Draco's buttonhole with precision. "It's nice to see you two getting on. Who would have ever thought it possible?"

"I told you, 'Mione," Ron replied with a scowl at how easily she had arranged the rose in place. "My opinion of Malfoy changed dramatically after what he did to old Chinny No Dick."

Hermione gave a snort of laughter at Ron's funny nickname for Justin, but Draco… Draco it seemed hadn't heard a word. He remained utterly transfixed by Hermione and continued to stare at her intently as she patted and smoothed down his lapels. Clocking his expression, she paused, resting her hands on his chest.

"What?" she asked, leaning back slightly with a puzzled expression.

"You're beautiful," he stated intently, before leaning down and crushing her with a searing kiss.

"Hey, Malfoy. I can always change my mind back again; you know?" Ron grumbled.

But neither Draco nor Hermione had heard him it seemed. Ron sullenly walked off in the direction of the pantry to find a snack to help him forget everything that his eyes and ears had witnessed in the last five minutes.

Breaking apart with a sigh, Hermione took Draco by the hand and assertively began to lead him out of The Burrow door and along a little path that led down to a great field beyond. Draco was stunned to see that it was filled with colourful tents with people mingling and chatting animatedly, in a scene reminiscent of The Quidditch World Cup.

"Come on," she said as they neared. "I'll show you to the sleeping quarters. You've got your bag?"

He patted his trouser pocket with a nod. "Yep. Right here."

Hermione side-eyed his trousers with a smirk.

"Ohhhh, so _that's_ what was pressing into me when we were kissing. I _did _wonder…" she teased, watching his reaction carefully.

Draco's heart skipped a beat at her open flirtation. She _was_ in a playful mood. Draco was starting to feel that he was _really _going to enjoy this wedding, despite the fact that he would be surrounded by Weasleys and likely to be snapped by the wizarding press.

The promise of a night spent with Hermione was worth it all, and he had to admit that the whole event and venue had a charged atmosphere that even Lord Voldemort himself might find hard to resist being swept along by.

Hermione led the way over to a smart looking tent.

"Here we are," she announced as she swept through the doorway and inside the magically extended interior. Draco ducked his head and followed her eagerly inside.

The interior was reminiscent of a very comfortable hotel room, with a sort of seating area and even a bathroom leading off to the side. Through a voile panel, Draco could make out the second space beyond that undoubtedly housed a very large and comfortable looking king size bed.

Draco took a breath to steady himself at the thought of what that bed represented.

"Yes, it's really lovely, isn't it?' Hermione said quietly, taking Draco's silence as a sign of him being impressed.

"Harry really has pulled out all the stops for his guests. He was just so sad that he couldn't afford to beef up the security so his auror friends could attend as guests rather than employees," she explained.

"Of course, we all told him that we didn't need all _this,' she_ continued gesturing around at the tent'sopulence. "But he wouldn't listen. Our comfort and enjoyment took precedence over his feelings about unwanted guests."

Draco nodded with a wry smile, even more satisfied with his decision to bring in the security firm from the Malfoy employ.

"Oh, good!" Hermione suddenly stated, walking over to the chaise and picking up a smart leather holdall. "They had my bag brought over for me."

She unzipped it and began to take out a few items to place on the desk-come-dressing table, before confidently going into the bedroom area and hanging up a couple of items of clothes on the simple rail.

"Right. That's that done. I'm just going to go and find someone," she announced before turning and exiting the bedroom. "Meet me outside in five?"

Draco nodded and she gave him a quick peck on the lips before disappearing through the tent's doorway. Draco watched her go, taking the moment to admire how beautiful she looked, even from behind, or rather - _especially_ from behind.

He turned back to the room and swallowed thickly again at the sight of the bed and the way that Hermione had just so matter-of-factly gone about unpacking her overnight bag as though spending the night together was quite the normal thing for them to do.

Feeling buoyed by her confidence, he made light work of unpacking his own few belongings, and after checking his appearance quickly in the mirror, made his way back outside into the bright sunshine.


	17. Chapter 17

~seventeen~

When Draco emerged from the tent, he was greeted by the sight of Neville Longbottom who was shuffling around anxiously outside. He awkwardly explained how Hermione had arranged for him to take Draco under his wing during the ceremony and make sure he wasn't on his own.

The pair had eyed each other with apprehension before heading back towards The Burrow to take their seats. The ceremony was to take place outdoors with a wisteria - strewn pergola providing the focal point for the proceedings. Neville explained how 'the girls', meaning Hermione and Luna, had headed off to the house for the final preparations, and that Luna, being the official photographer, was needed to capture the secret events within.

Draco soon found himself making pleasant enough conversation with Longbottom, and was impressed when he learned of how rapidly he had scaled the auror ranks since finishing eighth year at Hogwarts. Harry had insisted that Neville would not be undertaking any auror duties during the day, being one of his closest friends and allies and one of his groomsmen.

The two walked casually up the aisle formed by the careful arrangement of rows of quaintly mismatched chairs and benches that were slowly filling up with guests. Draco instantly recognised the moment of hush that descended as many pairs of eyes noticed his arrival, and caught sight of elbow nudges and raised eyebrows as they continued forwards.

It seemed that Neville also hadn't missed the reaction too, and Draco felt a surge of gratitude radiate through him as Neville clapped him casually on the shoulder and said "After you, mate," rather loudly, as he ushered him along to take a seat along the fourth row back. The pair made themselves comfortable and soon fell back into friendly conversation, reminiscing about Hogwarts and the fun memories of eighth year.

Suddenly the sound of a camera shutter snapping away nearby caused Draco to startle and he turned his head sharply in the direction of the noise with a frown.

Crouching down to the side a little way behind them was Luna Lovegood, wearing what Draco could only describe as some kind of 'lamp-shade' inspired dress in magenta pink. She was holding a large, magical camera that was attached to a rainbow-striped strap around her neck. Draco realised she must have got a rather impromptu shot of them and he noticed the big sappy smile that had suddenly come across Neville's face as he clocked his girlfriend.

Without warning, Neville suddenly threw his arm around Draco's shoulder and leaned in slightly, posing for another shot. Draco gave a bemused smile as he noticed the guests eying them with wonder, before returning the gesture and grinning his most ridiculously non-Malfoy cheesy grin.

"Say 'Doxieeeeees'!" he sang loudly, to the notable amusement of all around.

"Doxieeees!" came Neville's sing - song reply as Luna snapped away.

Luna scrambled to her feet and skipped over to them holding the camera out to let them peer inside the large viewfinder at the moving, magical image within.

"You and Neville make a good team, Draco," Luna commented matter-of-factly, as the boys chuckled at their ridiculous faces.

"Yeah, wonders will never cease eh?" came a familiar voice from the side.

Neville shot up to his feet instantly and shook hands with Harry, who had entered the ceremony area a few moments before. He had been covertly watching the interaction between the unlikely trio with bemusement.

"He's not giving you too much trouble is he, Neville?" Harry asked, gesturing with a nod towards Draco, who had also instinctively stood up to greet the groom. his pureblood etiquette kicking in on instinct.

"Who, Malfoy?" Neville asked. "He's a pussy-cat, aren't you mate?"

Draco huffed and made a wan smile at Neville before reaching forward to shake Harry's hand. He noticed it was clammy from pre-wedding nerves.

"Potter," he greeted with a curt nod. "Thanks for the invitation. I _really_ appreciate it."

Harry kept hold of Draco's hand and replied earnestly.

"Nah, it's nothing, Malfoy. Just… look after our Hermione, will you? I mean, that was some impressive hex you sent our dear old Justin's way, and it was clear that you had Hermione's best interests in mind, but I promise you, I know much, _much_ worse."

Draco smiled with bemusement at Potter's mild threat. It really didn't suit him.

"I will, Potter. You've got nothing to worry about."

"Yeah," Ron chimed in from behind, having eventually caught up with Harry after being side tracked by many Weasley relatives on the way. "Besides, Neville, Malfoy's not a pussy cat. He's a little baby ferret, remember?"

The three Gryffindors all guffawed together at the aged joke, while Draco rolled his eyes.

Luna's camera continued to snap away at their banter.

"Really, children?" Draco asked. "Still harping on about that old chestnut?"

"Yep!" Harry replied. "Never gets old Malfoy. Never gets old."

"For you, maybe," Draco grumbled, sitting down grumpily as Harry and Ron bid their farewells and headed up to take their positions at the front of the pergola.

Neville sat down at Draco's side and watched Luna fondly as she made her way closer to the front to get some photographs of Harry and Ron in their matching tweed suits. His eyes travelled around at the guests who were now all arrived and seated, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the bridal party. Suddenly Neville's eyes seemed to catch sight of one of Petrov's men coming to take the place of one of his auror colleagues, standing guard on the sidelines.

With a frown, Neville looked around, spotting several of his fellow auror friends discretely now sitting in among the guests rather than manning the security. He then clocked Petrov himself across the way and noted the subtle nod that passed between him and Draco.

"Alright ferret face. Spit it out."

"What?"

"What have you done? Why are all these strange and frankly terrifying looking men now keeping a watch over things?"

"I don't know what you mean…"

"Malfoy." Neville stated with a hushed growl. "If you don't tell me, I'm going to have to do something about it. I swear if you've done anything to ruin Harry's day…"

"Woah, woah, woah, Longbottom!" Draco whispered, holding his hands up in surrender. "Alright I'll tell you. Gods that all turned sour rather quickly didn't it? And here I was thinking we were actually starting to get on..."

"Malfoy!"

Draco took a breath and proceeded to fill Neville in on his surprise gift, earning himself a look of pure shock and disbelief from his companion. He assured Neville of the team's credentials and once Neville heard how Head Auror Pireness had been directly involved in checking Petrov's credentials he instantly relaxed with a sigh.

He side eyed Draco sheepishly, shuffling uncomfortably for a few seconds in embarrassment at his faux-pas.

"Look Malfoy, I'm sorry, ok? I just… I saw that guy, and you've got to admit, he does look well dodgy, and I just jumped to the wrong conclusion. I'm sorry. I should've known better ok?"

Draco made direct eye contact and sneered at Neville, giving him a cold hard stare of derision.

"Turns out you're just as stupid as you've always been, doesn't it, Longbottom?"

Neville withdrew slightly in surprise at his reaction, before Draco's facade cracked and he burst out with laughter, clapping the stunned Longbottom on his shoulder.

"Ha! Had you fooled there didn't I? Look, it's fine, Longbottom. No harm done. You were just being loyal to your friend. I appreciate that."

Draco continued to laugh as Neville gave a sigh of relief, shaking his head with a chuckle.

"You ferrety little twat," he whispered just out of Draco's earshot.

A few minutes later, with the ceremonial area now filled to capacity with guests, and the bride's mother perched eagerly in position up front, the sound of the string quartet struck up their opening chords to signal the arrival of the bride.

Standing with his fellow guests, Draco braced himself to once more behold the beautiful sight of Hermione as she glided effortlessly down the aisle, holding little Victoire Weasley in her arms. The toddler was now wearing the most adorable yellow flower girl dress, with a ring of daisies laced through her golden curls.

The guests gave an audible gush of appreciation at the cuteness before them, and Draco felt himself staring intently at his girlfriend as she cradled the little blonde-haired girl with such natural and motherly ease. He felt as though he was being given an opportunity to see into a future for himself that he almost didn't dare to entertain.

Soon it was time for the bride's entrance, of course accompanied by her doting father who looked to be on the verge of tears before they even took their first step. Draco had to admit that the red-headed Weasley girl did look stunning, her flame coloured hair cascading freely as her eyes locked onto Potter's, the pair sharing a moment of unadulterated happiness.

Draco couldn't help but continue to indulge in admiring Hermione throughout the ceremony as she smiled with happy tears as her best friends stood up before their loved ones and promised to spend their lives together.

Finishing his vows, Potter had chosen to recite a poem, acknowledging his uncertainty at falling for his best friend's sister. He held her hands tenderly as the simplicity of the words fell from his lips:

_We were two souls_

_Wandering in the night_

_Both of us seeking_

_The solace of respite_

_Both were lost_

_Both needing another_

_Both of us looking_

_For a perfect lover_

_My best friend's sister_

_Your brother's best friend_

_Was our love so taboo_

_That it had to end?_

_Drawn to each other_

_Like moths to the light_

_Who cares about wrong_

_When it feels so right?_

The final lines of Potter's poem struck a deep chord within Draco as he immediately drew its relevance to his relationship with Hermione.

He had been watching her intently the whole time that the happy couple had been exchanging their vows and a flash of electricity passed through him as she too seemed to recognise the relevance of the words and looked up suddenly, meeting his gaze. Draco swallowed thickly and took yet another steadying breath.

The ceremony was brought to a close and the couple were showered with magical confetti that fluttered and multiplied many times over creating a storm of soft colours and shrieks of delight from the guests.

They were then all swiftly ushered away to the nearby orchard, where the press photographers were being held and where the officially organised and staged photos were being taken. The press were behaving impeccably, being heavily guarded by a team of Petrov's most menacing looking men.

Draco kept his head down and loitered around out of sight of the photographers, watching carefully and with bated breath as he noticed Potter and Weasley talking to one of their auror friends and gesturing towards the mysterious security crew with confusion.

Just as he had arranged, the auror team had got things well in hand and appeared to assure Potter with ease. Draco looked out for any tell-tale sign that his name had been mentioned, but saw none. He smirked wryly to himself with satisfaction at the pair's puzzled expressions as Ginny called them back over for more photographs.

After a short while, groups of guests began to be called upon to join the bride and groom for specific photographs, ending predictably with a large group shot of all the guests.

"Shit," Draco muttered to himself.

He paced himself to try to remain as far back as possible and cursed his parents for passing on their cursed unmistakeable white blond hair that was glinting in the Summer sunshine like a beacon indicating his presence.

It was then that he heard it.

"Mr Malfoy! Mr Malfoy! This way Mr Malfoy!" came the insistent and repeated calls of the paparazzi as he stalked moodily to the back of the group, several guests turning to stare at him as he stole all of the attention away from the bride and groom.

An awkward silence fell across the guests as they were swamped in the cacophony of noise and clicking shutters of the cameras.

"Mr Potter - would you like to share with us why Mr Malfoy is attending your wedding?"

"Mr Malfoy, in what capacity were you invited to the wedding, today?"

"Mr Potter! Mr Potter! Aren't you worried that many will resent your friendship?"

Draco was busy wishing that the ground would open and swallow him up when he became suddenly aware of another voice calling his name from the front of the group of guests.

"Draco. Draco!"

It was unmistakably Hermione's voice that called out to him. He craned his neck in the direction of her voice. She was standing just to the right on the front row and had turned around to face him. She was holding out her hands and gesturing to him to join her.

"DRACO!" she called with a now bossy tone. "Come _here_!"

"I'd do as yer told if I was you, young Malfoy," came the rather loud mutter of Hagrid who had taken his place right at the back of the shot so as not to block any other guests from view. He gave Draco a rather unceremonious shove, sending him barging forwards into the guests and towards Hermione.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him up to the front of the line-up, to take his place at her side. Draco glared at the mass of photographers and journalists, but soon found himself rather distracted by the fact that Hermione had turned her body slightly in towards his and had snaked her arm around his back, placing her other hand on his chest in a wide open admission that he was with her.

She turned to face the press with a challenging raise of her eyebrows, daring them to take their obtrusive and inappropriate questions further, her loose curls blowing widely around her face on the summer breeze and the frisson of angry magic crackling at her fingertips.

"Draco is with me," she announced matter-of-factly, looking up into his eyes with a mischievous smile.

Draco snaked an arm around her slim waist in return and pulled her in even more closely, relishing the feeling of her against him and awestruck by her unabashed admission.

"You have ten seconds to take your final photographs and then you leave," came the commanding voice of Petrov from the side of the orchard.

Draco noticed Harry and Ron give each other an impressed nod before grinning widely at the press who frantically took their final shots and persisted with their relentless barrage of questions which of course, went ignored. Then suddenly, and without announcement they were all unceremoniously frogmarched away to the Floo under the strict supervision of Petrov's men.

There went up a mighty cheer and a ripple of laughter around the orchard and a sense of relaxation and enjoyment suddenly returned to the event. Everyone began to make their way back over to the ceremonial area that had now been set up with dining tables and chairs, with house elves levitating trays of drinks around the mingling guests, who chatted away amiably about the beautiful wedding ceremony and the bit of scandal surrounding Hermione's revelation.

Draco and Hermione kept their arms firmly wrapped around each other as they sauntered slowly along to join them.

"Granger, that was…" Draco began, trailing off to try to find the right words. "Just… thank you. For standing up for me like that. You're… amazing."

Hermione paused and looked into his eyes with a short laugh.

"Don't be silly," she admonished with a smile. "You'd have done the same for me."

And she stretched up and placed a lingering kiss on his lips before taking his hand and dragging him towards her friends. Draco realised that she was of course absolutely right. He would do the same for her.

In fact, in that moment, he couldn't think of a single thing that he wouldn't do for her. He would throw himself into a smouldering pit of fire and lava if she asked him to. And the burning flame of adoration that was taking hold of him in that moment made him feel that he just might have already done so.


	18. Chapter 18

**~eighteen~**

The wedding of Harry Potter and Ginevra Weasley turned out to be a highly enjoyable affair for all concerned after the swift departure of the wizarding press. All the guests palpably relaxed and Draco found himself really enjoying himself, as the afternoon passed quickly by and the evening's festivities approached.

Draco had attended many lavish pureblood nuptials over the years, with cold ceremonies and stuffy wedding receptions. Those occasions were nearly always more about etiquette and social rivalry than having anything to do with love and celebration.

He found this wedding to be nothing of the sort and discovered a real appreciation for the rustic outdoor wedding breakfast, seated at long benches adorned with yellow wildflowers and a charming cacophony of mismatched crockery and cutlery.

The elf made wine was flowing easily and Draco found this seemed to be giving many guests the confidence to approach him and to strike up pleasant conversation which he returned in earnest appreciation.

As the evening drew near, a magical canopy was erected overhead complete with those floating lights in glass jars that Draco recognised from his mother's gala. He smiled to himself as he recognised Hermione's influence. The seating was carefully rearranged around an open dancefloor and the festivities began with a wizarding band striking up lively tunes with the occasional muggle song thrown in for good measure.

Draco had been inwardly horrified when Mrs Weasley had unceremoniously dragged him up onto the dance floor, holding his hand and waist strongly in a very close position as they two-stepped awkwardly around the dancefloor. He was able to draw on all of his Slytherin cool to not convey his feelings outwardly, but very nearly broke when he saw Hermione, Harry and Neville all snickering wildly at the side of the dancefloor, while the Weasley siblings looked on in abject horror.

To add further insult to injury, Luna then nonchalantly began snapping several photographs.

Draco had thanked Mrs Weasley in his most convincing imitation of earnest gratitude as the song had mercifully come to an end, before swiftly legging it over to Hermione and helping himself to her drink, downing it in one swift gulp.

"You fucking arses," he muttered with a scowl as they howled with laughter.

"Oh Draco," Hermione cooed, wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes before leaning to give him a hug. "I thought it was very sweet of you."

He gave her a broad, fake smile as Harry approached, still laughing and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Bloody hell, Malfoy," he said, shaking his head in disbelief. "As if the security guards thing wasn't enough, you go and honour me with that little performance as well! Best. Gifts. Ever!"

Draco froze at Harry's words and Hermione gave a puzzled glance between the two men.

"Security guards?" she asked in wonder.

Draco narrowed his eyes as he glowered at Neville who was standing nearby, gazing at the canopied ceiling with wide eyed innocence.

"Longbottom?" Draco asked mutely.

"Hey! Hey! You can't blame Neville. Look, after I spoke to Pireness I started to put things together and came to the conclusion that it was all Neville's doing. Neville didn't want to take the credit, Malfoy. So he told me, alright? And really, we're truly grateful."

"Yes we really are!" Ginny added as she approached and slid her arms around her husband.

"It's meant so much for Harry's work mates to be able to be our guests."

"Not to mention how brilliant those guys were with the press and photographers!" Harry added. "It's made a world of difference to our day, Malfoy and we can't thank you enough."

Draco looked over at Neville who was mouthing the word "_sorry_" at him with a wincing expression that begged for mercy.

Draco shook his head with a sigh.

"Think nothing of it," he replied resignedly.

Hermione continued to look around at her friends and boyfriend with outright surprise.

"You mean, all these unconventional looking aurors that have been skulking around all day, were arranged in secret? By Draco?'

"Yep!" Ginny replied with a grin. "Pretty cool huh? Now come on husband, I think it's time for our first dance!"

"Yes Mrs Potter," Harry replied, earning himself a lascivious grin from his wife and making his way to the dance floor as their first dance was announced.

Hermione stood staring up at Draco, eyebrows raised challengingly as he patently ignored her and snatched up another glass of elf-made wine from a passing tray.

The other guests came to gather around to watch the happy couple, but Hermione didn't take her eyes from Draco.

"I can't believe you did that for Harry and Gin," she said softly.

He sighed before finally dropping his gaze down to hers. "I didn't just do it for them," he admitted quietly, reaching forwards to tuck a wayward lock of curly hair behind her ear.

She sighed and smiled up at him, shaking her head in continued disbelief before turning to watch her friends enjoy their first dance together as man and wife.

The early evening soon turned to night and Draco found that his following ventures onto the dancefloor were far more enjoyable than his first. The tempo of the evening began to slow and Hermione was pressed to Draco in a close embrace as they danced to a muggle song that he had never heard before.

Draco was once again caught up in the words that seemed to speak to him about his feelings for Hermione, just as the poem in Potter's wedding vows had earlier in the day.

_We were young, we were wrong,_

_We were fine all along,_

_If there's somebody calling me on_

_She's the one._

_When you get to where you wanna go_

_And you know the things you wanna know_

_You're smiling,_

_When you said what you wanna say_

_And you know the way you want to play, yeah,_

_You'll be so high, you'll be flying._

_Though the sea will be strong_

_I know we'll carry on,_

_'Cause if there's somebody calling me on_

_She's the one…_

Draco gazed intently into Hermione's eyes as they danced closely. His mind was racing as he tried to comprehend how the events of recent years had somehow led up to this moment.

He, Draco Malfoy, was attending the wedding of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, being welcomed and accepted and was enjoying dancing the night away with the witch of his dreams in his arms. And that witch just happened to be Hermione Granger.

It was hard to believe that only four years ago, he had been pointing his wand at Dumbledore, unable to see any logical path ahead that would lead him to a happy future. If Hermione hadn't spoken in his defence at his trial, he would most certainly have ended up in Azkaban and his life in ruins.

He owed her so, so much. To now think that she had not only forgiven him but had also found herself able to move so far on from their past to be able to begin a relationship with him was incomprehensible.

He swallowed thickly as he became overwhelmed by his emotions, battling to keep them in check.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked with concern, taking in his intense expression.

"I'm fine," he replied, quickly drawing his feelings within.

Hermione withdrew slightly and looked him over, appraising his pensive mood. She hummed to herself and took his hand in hers, leading him casually away from the dance floor.

"Well I'm feeling rather done in," she said, grabbing a half- drank bottle of firewhiskey that had been left unattended on a nearby table and discretely concealing it. She then continued to lead Draco away and towards the exit.

"Come on… let's go have a little night cap shall we?" she asked, waggling her eyebrows mischievously.

"You sure?" Draco asked, not wanting her to miss out on the late evening festivities on account of him.

"Absolutely." she replied. "The party is on its last legs now anyway, and it's not like we need to announce our departure and thank our hosts now is it? We'll be seeing them tomorrow."

Draco gave a nod and a shrug of relent, and seeing that no one had even noticed their imminent departure, followed Hermione eagerly away.

Once outside the canopied reception, Hermione immediately bent down and removed her shoes, taking a sharp breath and giving a sigh of relief as her aching soles made contact with the cool grass beneath.

"Feels good?" Draco asked.

"You have no idea." she replied. "I've been casting a slipper-soft charm on them all day, but it's been losing its efficacy due to repeated application."

She uncorked the bottle of firewhiskey and took a hearty swig as they made their way down the hill and towards the tents.

"Bloody hell Granger, you want to go easy! Firewhiskey on top of all that wine is not a winning combination," Draco warned, playfully.

"What, even if it's medicinal?"

"Medicinal?"

"Yes - to numb the pain of my poor aching feet!" she explained, before taking another sip.

Draco scoffed before snatching the bottle from her hand and taking a large swig of his own.

They entered the field that housed the tents, finding it blissfully empty. Little floating jar lights were dotted all around, helping them to find their way as the sound of another slow ballad and the chatter of the wedding guests drifted down the hill on the breeze.

Their tent was also cosily lit with the soft twinkling lights that welcomed them as they ducked through the curtained entrance. Draco paused to remove his jacket and tie, tossing them down on the small chaise and opening his top shirt buttons with relief.

Looking up, he found that Hermione had already made her way over to the bed and was lying back on it, arms outstretched, with her lower legs dangling over the edge. Draco gave a low chuckle at her ungraceful posture and made his own way over to join her on the bed.

He kicked off his shoes and removed his emerald cufflinks from his sleeves. He then hiked his legs up on the bed and reclined back against the soft headboard.

Hermione spun herself around, bringing her own legs up and onto the bed, but lying the opposite way around to Draco in a top to tail position. She propped herself up on her elbows and gently placed her right foot on his chest with a pleading expression, wiggling her toes suggestively.

Draco feigned ignorance, crossing his arms and closing his eyes in a fake sleep.

"Draco…" Hermione whined, worming her toes into his armpit and tickling him with another wiggle of her toes.

"Hey!" he yelled, abruptly squirming sideways and grabbing the offending foot.

"Well look at that!" Hermione said with a gleeful smile. "You may as well give it a little rub now that you've got hold of it."

Draco rolled his eyes and gave a quiet _'hmph'_ of derision.

"Really Granger? I bet you say that to all the boys?"

She smacked him playfully before he predictably relented and began to indulge her with a firm foot massage, slowly and carefully kneading away the aches and pains of their long day. She sighed contentedly, lying back and offering her second foot for the same treatment after a few minutes.

Draco willingly obliged, using it as an opportunity to ogle Hermione's beautiful form once more as she lay before him.

"It's been an incredible day, Draco," Hermione announced quietly after a few moments.

"It has indeed."

"I'm so glad that you came," she added, removing her feet from his grasp and spinning once more to lie alongside him, resting her head on his chest.

"I'm glad you asked me," he replied, enveloping her in his arms and stroking her back and shoulders lovingly.

They lay holding each other in comfortable silence, listening to the sounds of the music and revelry at The Burrow beyond. Draco gently reached for his wand, extinguishing the light inside the bedroom and casting an invisibility charm on the ceiling above them, making it instantly transparent.

Hermione gave a short gasp, turning her head to get a better view of the twinkling stars above them.

"I always loved Astronomy classes at school," she said, her eyes roaming over the skies.

"Hmmm?" Draco responded. "I guess I enjoyed it, but being a descendant of the noble and most ancient House of Black gave me something of a head start on everyone else."

"Oh, of course! All named after constellations?"

"Well, not quite all. But a lot of us, that's for sure. And it's an expectation that any Black offspring are able to identify all the family namesakes in the night sky by the time they are five years old."

Hermione was quiet for a moment before she tentatively asked; "And what about you, Draco? Do you plan to continue the constellation tradition with children of your own? Assuming you want to have children, that is?"

"Oh I definitely want to have children," he replied without missing a beat. "Marriage, children, the whole shebang. And I guess I would like to carry on the tradition because, let's face it, there are not many other family traditions from the Black-Malfoy line that I would particularly want to continue, you know?"

"Hmm, yes I suppose so," Hermione agreed quietly.

"But I suppose it all depends on the lucky witch who gets to marry me," he continued, stretching out nonchalantly with a smirk. "I suppose I'd have to let her have a say in it before I go and name her child 'Scutum' or 'Camelopardalis'."

Hermione let out a snigger. "Yes, I think that might be wise Draco. So… go on then, astronomy expert. Who can you see up there right now?"

Accepting her challenge, Draco scooted down the bed slightly so that his face was closely pressed to the side of hers and took hold of her hand, guiding it gently whilst pointing out the stars with their vision aligned.

"Well, for starters there is my mother's star, Narcissus, which can be found in the Gemini constellation. The twins of Gemini are Pollux - which was my Great Grandfather's name, and Caspar. Casper Black was my Great Grandfather's cousin. Great Grandfather Pollux had a sister, my Great, Great Aunt and she was named Cassiopeia, which is… here. Over here, we have Grandfather Cygnus the swan and his brother, Great Uncle Orion is easily recognisable of course, right...there. Cygnus was actually the name of my Great, Great, Great Grandfather as well."

"Wow." Hermione said quietly. She noted how he had avoided pointing out Aunt Bellatrix's star with a smile of gratitude to herself.

"There are a few others. But of course we also have the most impressive and dazzling constellation known to human-kind, I present to you, the handsome 17-65. Otherwise known as… yours truly."

Hermione tutted and rolled her eyes at his vanity.

"Of course. The never- setting, mighty dragon," she sighed and snuggled back into his chest. Humouring his vanity she asked him to tell her more about his namesake.

Draco pulled her in closely again and quietly began to retell the myth associated with the dragon.

"To begin, the dragon's name was actually Ladon and it was tasked by Hera to guard the golden apples in the gardens of the Hesperides, Atlas' daughters. Ladon was placed around the tree so that the Hesperides would not pick any apples from it."

"As part of his twelve labours, Heracles was tasked to steal some golden apples from the tree. He killed Ladon with his poisoned arrows and took the apples. Hera was so saddened by the dragon's death that she placed its image in the sky among the constellations."

"It's quite a sad tale really," Draco added, after he had finished his story. "I hope the story of my life doesn't end quite so dramatically."

The tent was silent for a moment before Draco heard the sound of Hermione's quiet deep breathing coming from his chest. She had fallen fast asleep and looked incredibly serene and comfortable.

Draco smiled and shook his head with a short laugh to himself. Drunk Hermione had been quite the revelation with her needy foot rubbing and whisky stealing antics. He felt a vague wave of disappointment that their evening hadn't ended in something more unbridled than stargazing and storytelling, but he felt so content and warm with his witch nestled in his arms under the twinkly canopy that hung above them, that he didn't pay the feeling much attention.

He soon found himself giving in to his own fatigue and the effects of the firewhiskey nightcap. His his blond lashes gradually fluttered shut as his arms enveloped Hermione more closely to his heart.


	19. Chapter 19

~nineteen~

Draco gave out a gruff sigh as he gradually became aware of an extremely pleasant sensation on his neck. He opened one eye to find that the tent was vaguely illuminated by the first light of dawn, and he could hear the sound of a rooster crowing in the distance.

Hermione was also most definitely awake and was nuzzling his neck whilst trailing her fingertips over his now bare chest, having seemingly undone several more of his shirt buttons as he slept.

"Merlin's balls, Granger," Draco croaked after realising the early hour. "Forgotten the school motto already have we?"

"No," Hermione replied with a sigh. "But that bloody rooster woke me up. These tents have been silenced one way only, unfortunately."

"Hmm, so that's why you're awake at such an obscene hour after consuming all that stolen firewhiskey last night."

"Eurgh, don't remind me," Hermione said, sitting up and stretching widely. She looked back at Draco with an apologetic smile.

"Draco, I'm sorry for falling asleep on you," she said as she reached her arms up and began rummaging around in her hair. She began pulling at the numerous hair grips that had been left in her hair overnight and had now become quite entangled among her wayward curls.

"Don't worry about it, Granger. I can always bring you up to speed on constellation mythology some other time. Here - allow me…?" he added, pulling himself up to sit behind her so that she sat between his legs facing away from him.

He reached up and began assisting Hermione in locating the last few grips from her hair, raking his fingers through her locks as they cascaded softly down onto her bare shoulders above her dress.

She craned her neck to the side with a sigh as he gathered her hair together and drew it gently forwards over one of her shoulders. He then leaned forwards and began placing soft kisses on the side of her neck, sliding his hands down to her waist as he did so.

Hermione hummed her approval and assertively and took hold of his hands, bringing them forwards and pressing them into her breasts as she arched into his firm grasp.

"Never tickle a sleeping dragon, hmm?" she asked suggestively, as Draco pulled her back towards his chest and continued to assault her neck, jaw and earlobe with nips and kisses.

"Sound advice," he whispered. "Or you risk awakening the beast and finding yourself at his mercy."

Hermione giggled at his reply and stood up off the bed to face him. The wild state of her hair was indescribable and her beautiful dress was all askew and crumpled from having been slept in. Her cheeks were blushed and a mischievous smile was creeping across her lips. Draco had never seen her looking more delicious.

"Forgive me, please, oh mighty beast!" she declared dramatically. "How can I ever make it up to you?" she asked with fake wonder as she reached around to her side and slowly undid the long narrow zip there.

After a moment, the thick fabric of her gown fell heavily to the floor. She placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head over to the side with a suggestive smirk.

Draco decided to take his time to savour this moment. He slowly looked her over from head to toe, involuntarily licking his lips. She wore only a small pair of lacy, peach coloured knickers. Her perfect breasts gently rose and fell as she drew in a deep breath, her nipples dark and pert.

He had been dreaming of what Hermione's naked body would look like, ever since that day he caught sight of her arse cheeks that morning at the student flat. His imagination was, of course nothing in comparison to her actual beauty before him and Draco was revelling in how playfully forward she was being.

Playing along with her, he shrugged slightly before musing: "Well, that's a good start."

Hermione laughed down her nose before taking a step towards him. She placed her knees on either side of him on the bed and straddled him, placing her index finger under his chin to tilt his face upwards before kissing him with a searching tongue.

Draco then felt her pushing him backwards and he naturally obliged, lying back onto the bed, groaning with pleasure as she rolled her hips and ground herself against his hard erection that was pressing against his trousers.

She continued to lean down, kissing and nuzzling at his neck and travelling downwards, further unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it open.

"And how about this?" she whispered in his ear, licking and blowing softly before taking his lobe between her lips and sucking gently. Draco could feel her taut nipples touching his chest.

"Hmmm…" Draco groaned again, his hands curving around the flesh of her buttocks and squeezing them lightly in response. "...definitely getting there."

He slid his hands further around the curves of her arse until his fingertips grazed the expanse of fabric between her legs, and traced along the line of her moist slit. Hermione let out a delicious moan of pleasure as he dipped his finger beneath the lace, making direct contact.

He carefully watched her reaction as she sat back and rocked her hips to increase the sensation, tossing her head back with a wanton sigh. She slid her hands up along her waist, bringing them to her chest and began to massage her breasts to create dual sensations of pleasure.

Draco sat up and threw her down onto her back in an instant, diving to hungrily take her nipple in his mouth, sucking and lapping with precision as his fingers stroked and caressed her between her legs.

Hermione cried out and arched into his touch.

"Oh Gods, Draco…" she moaned loudly.

Draco opened his eyes and raised his gaze upwards to find Hermione craning her head forwards, watching him intently as he pleasured her nipple, her hands grabbing the back of his head to hold him in place.

He lapped at her breast like a hungry cat drinking milk, maintaining eye contact throughout, before releasing her breast and sitting up to slowly peel away her soaked knickers, tossing them carelessly across the tent.

He was breathing heavily, his hard length desperate for relief. Draco had dreamed of this moment for so long. The one night stands and ridiculous relationship with Astoria had been nothing but a distraction to him, and at every recent sexual encounter he had had, he had found himself imagining Hermione's body, her beautiful face and the obscene sounds she would make as he made her scream his name.

The reality of his fantasies coming to fruition was igniting a passion deep within him and he became determined to ensure her pleasure in every way possible.

Draco pulled Hermione's knees up and pushed them towards her chest and outwards, slowly exposing herself to him more fully. Without a moment's hesitation he dived into her with a hungry tongue, reaching up to simultaneously squeeze and play with her breasts.

Hermione arched and keened, crying out in unbridled pleasure at the sudden contact. She grabbed hold of his hands and pressed them more firmly to her chest, rocking and arching her pelvis to ride against his mouth.

Draco hummed in response to her unbridled reaction and began to deftly circle her clit with his tongue. She moaned wantonly at the thrilling sensation before Draco brought a hand down from her breast and slowly, oh so slowly entered two fingers inside her, curling them upwards.

She gasped loudly and Draco felt her raise her torso up and crane her head forwards. He raised his eyes again to meet her gaze, finding her watching him intently, with reddened cheeks, her pupils blown wide and her forehead and glistening with a light sheen of sweat.

He continued to circle and suck at her clit, gazing intently into her eyes.

"Oh Gods! Oh yes!" she cried out, rocking and grinding to ride against his hand and mouth once more. "Oh Draco… Draco… I'm… I'm…"

Feeling him give her bud one last suck, Hermione tensed and came with a powerful clench. Her thighs gripped around him as she arched and keened, crying out and riding the waves of her orgasm.

Draco continued to gently lap and move his fingers inside her as the waves gradually began to subside. He slowly removed his fingers, feeling a pool of her wet slick draw from her as he did so.

Hermione lay spread eagled and limp, breathing heavily with her arm draped across her eyes. Draco stood up to remove his clothes, taking his time and watching her intently.

He noticed how she continued to shudder occasionally from the further dying waves of her climax. He had never felt more aroused in his life. He knew the task ahead was going to take a huge amount of effort on his part to not come as soon as he touched her.

He climbed over her and she removed her arm from her eyes to look at him with a satisfied smile. He paused above her and gazed intensely into her eyes as she propped herself on her elbows to kiss him passionately. She explored his mouth hungrily with her tongue and Draco knew that she must have been able to taste herself on him. The thought made him almost come there and then.

Pulling away from the kiss, Hermione reached up with a hand and placed her palm delicately on the side of his face, running her thumb gently across his open lips.

"Take me Draco," she whispered, opening her legs and rolling her pelvis so that his hard length became coated in her arousal.

Grabbing his wand from the bedside, Draco quickly cast a contraceptive charm before taking her knee and pushing it back to present her to him at a more accessible angle. He slowly entered her, fully and deeply, pushing inside to the hilt.

Hermione closed her eyes and tipped her head back with a gasp at the sensation, still being swollen and sensitive from Draco's earlier accomplishments. Draco paused and groaned gruffly.

"Oh Gods," he whispered, getting himself in check and concentrating hard on not making an embarrassment of himself. "Hermione, you feel so good."

The feeling was like nothing he had experienced before. The emotional link he had with the witch was proving to heighten the pleasure of love making immeasurably. He gently began to move within her. She felt heavenly, so tightly sheathed with her wet arousal all around his length.

Hermione was now moaning and keening as she rode herself against him once more. Draco kissed, licked and nipped at her neck and breasts, before sitting more upright on his knees. He began massaging her breasts and nipples with one hand, while caressing her sensitive clit with the other, all the time moving himself in and out with rhythmic precision.

Draco couldn't take his eyes off Hermione as she cried out, writhing and moving against him. She opened her eyes widely and leaned forwards to watch his ministrations.

"Is that good?" Draco asked intensely

.

"Mmmmmm," was all she managed to reply.

"You like to watch, don't you?"

"Mmmmm yes…"

Draco gave a low chuckle of understanding. Seeing her taking him in as she rocked and thrust herself against him was a beautiful sight to behold. He could feel the crest of his burgeoning release approaching, but it seemed Hermione had beaten him. She grabbed his hand that was at her clit and ground herself against it with a gasp before crying out once more.

"Oh Gods. Oh Gods. Draco, I'm coming again. Oh yes, yess!"

She all but screamed as she became tense and came once again, and he could feel the wave of her climax clenching and tightening on his length and leading him to his own end.

He gave a loud groan as he came with a forceful thrust deep inside her, collapsing forwards and panting heavily at her ear as he continued to thrust forwards to spill the last of his come within.

Hermione continued to whimper and writhe as the waves of her orgasm continued, Draco feeling the mild clenches of her aftershocks as he remained seated inside her.

After a few moments, he withdrew slowly, feeling the deliciously warm cascade of their shared release being freed from within and lay down at her side. He pulled her towards him with a soft kiss on her temple and drew the bed sheets gently over them.

They both fell into a pleasure-induced slumber, legs and arms entwined in a close embrace.

An hour or so later, the tent had gradually lit up with the rays of morning sunshine and Draco and Hermione were roused by the sounds of wedding guests moving around and talking in the field outside.

"I really hope that one-way silencing charm worked" Draco muttered with his eyes still shut.

"Relax, Draco. I put the charm on myself" Hermione replied with confidence as she stretched and yawned.

"Really?' Draco countered, mischievously before shouting out: "Justin Finch Fletchley has a maggot dick!" at the top of his lungs.

Hermione gasped with a smile before laughing loudly, throwing her pillow to hit Draco directly in the face.

The couple spent a lazy morning in their tent, enjoying a sensual shower together in their ensuite bathroom and another round of lovemaking in bed, before eventually relenting and getting dressed to face the day ahead.

They emerged from the tent and were greeted by the tempting smell of fried bacon and sausages that were being grilled on a huge fire pit outside The Burrow by Mr Weasley. Mrs Weasley was sitting in the nearby shade of the porch, looking a little worse for wear and wearing a large pair of dark sunglasses.

Draco and Hermione indulged in a breakfast feast together to abate their burgeoning hangovers and made pleasant chatter with the guests.

Harry and Ginny emerged from their secluded love-nest in the late morning to a raucous cheer and round of applause.

"Thought you honeymooners were staying in bed all day?!" shouted Seamus Finnegan as the newlyweds sat down with matching blushes.

George and Charlie Weasley were busying themselves, trying to arrange a friendly game of Quidditch down in the orchard. They were doing all they could to convince Draco to come and join in. Draco had to regretfully decline.

"I'm spending a few days up in Scotland this week to prepare for the opening on Saturday," he explained before turning to Hermione. "I really need to think about heading back soon to organise a few things."

Hermione smiled broadly at him.

"It's so exciting, Draco. I'm really happy things are going so well for you."

Draco couldn't help but compare her reaction to that of Astoria after he had announced the expansion of his business. Hermione's total acceptance of him was completely non conditional. He found it so beguiling that her feelings for him were so genuine and not borne from any ulterior motive of personal gain. How had he ended up being so lucky?

"I think I'll head back home too, Draco. I'm am feeling a bit tired for some reason," she added with a sly wink.

Draco and Hermione finished off their coffees and grabbed their overnight bags, making their way over to Mr and Mrs Weasley and Harry and Ginny who were seated together on the porch.

George and Charlie whooped and shouted "Malfoy, you pussay!" in disdain at him turning down their challenge of Quidditch.

"Scared of losing, ferret features?"

Draco gave them a withering smile.

"No. Just don't want to upstage you in front of all your relatives, Weasleys," he shouted back. "I'll thrash your arses some other time!"

The boys crowed at his comeback but Draco quietly ignored them as Hermione shook her head at their childish antics, stepping up onto the porch.

"Well, we're heading off now," Hermione announced as Ginny jumped to her feet and made her way over to hug her friend. The girls shared a long, tight embrace.

"Thank you so much, Hermione," said Ginny. "I couldn't have got through the day without you."

"It was my absolute pleasure, Mrs Potter!" Hermione replied with a big smile. "I loved being your bridesmaid. You were the most beautiful bride I've ever seen."

Draco and Harry smiled awkwardly at each other before shaking hands.

"Potter."

"Malfoy."

"Congratulations. And thanks again, for having me."

"Think nothing of it," Harry replied earnestly. "Erm… have you seen the Prophet this morning?"

"No." Draco and Hermione answered in chorus.

Ginny stepped briefly into the kitchen and retrieved the morning's news that had arrived by a very early owl. She held it out for Draco to take, and Hermione leaned in as he carefully unfolded it.

'MALFOY-GRANGER SHOCK REVELATION AT FRIENDS' WEDDING' read the large headline. It was accompanied by a photo of the pair holding each other closely at the front of the group shot, with all the other guests conveniently cropped out.

"Oh Merlin!" Hermione groaned. "I can't believe we made it to the front page!"

"Well Potters," Draco added with a laugh, "...it looks like you've been relegated from the title of 'Wedding of the Year' to simply '_Malfoy And Grangers' Friends' Wedding'_"

"We know!" Ginny chimed gleefully. "It's bloody brilliant!"

"I mean; we do actually feature inside. There's a double page spread on us. But this is just fantastic! You've totally taken the spotlight off us. We owe you big time!" Harry added.

He then became slightly more regretful in his tone.

"You know, I'm afraid you two might well be in for the full paparazzi treatment for a while now."

"Yes, I suppose that's to be expected," Hermione agreed, slipping her arm around Draco and looking up at him with a small smile.

"It's nothing we can't handle," Draco stated, pulling her in towards him.

"Well just let us know if you want us to return the favour for _your _wedding," Harry added with a wide grin.

"Yeah," Ginny added, wading in on the fun of making her friends squirm awkwardly.

"Perhaps Harry and I could announce we're having triplets at your nuptials?" she suggested with deadpan seriousness.

Draco noticed Harry's eyes widen momentarily as his Adam's apple bobbed with a heavy gulp at his new bride's suggestion.

"Good luck with that Potter!" Draco called out with a laugh as he and Hermione made their way over to bid farewell to Mr and Mrs Weasley, thanking them for their hospitality. Mrs Weasley looked more than a little embarrassed when Draco leaned in to peck her cheek, thanking her for their dance together the night before.

Finally the couple went inside The Burrow to access the floo. Petrov and a smaller team of his men were sitting around the kitchen table, with one colleague carefully monitoring the fireplace. Draco shook Petrov's hand, expressing his sincere thanks to them all and handing over his final payment.

"Petrov, I may be needing you for future personal security work, if you're interested?"

Petrov was indeed very interested and the two men parted ways with an agreement for Draco to be in touch soon. Hermione pulled Draco over to the floo and the pair departed to Strawberry Fields together. Ever the gentleman, Draco wanted to see her home safely, as well as spending every second he could with her before their imminent separation.

They stepped through and into the cosy little living room of the cottage, throwing their bags down on the sofa as Hermione stretched and sighed loudly. She turned to face Draco with a smile.

"So.. that's that, then! Wedding Of The Year - done!"

"I think you'll find it's '_Malfoy And Granger's Friends' Wedding_ \- done!' actually!" Draco corrected with a smirk.

Hermione laughed and slipped her arms around his neck.

"So, you think we might need some security now that the press are interested in us?" she asked tentatively.

"It's very possible," Draco acknowledged. "We'll be fine at home as they are bound by magical restrictions to not come near us unsolicited there, but they might take to following us around in public for a while. Especially at any larger events."

"Like your shop opening next week?"

"Yes, that's what I was thinking. But hey! It'll be great for business! Think of all that free publicity," he said with a shrug.

"Every rusty cauldron, hey?" Hermione replied.

"Exactly. Right then!" Draco announced with assertiveness. "I'll be off."

He released Hermione briefly to retrieve his bag, quickly explaining that he would be in Hogsmeade until Wednesday and promising to owl her the minute he returned.

He quickly turned back to peck her on the lips.

"I love you. See you later," he stated without thinking, before stepping past her and towards the fireplace.

He paused suddenly as he realised what had just happened. Hermione was also standing stock still, staring wide-eyed at the back of his head.

Draco berated himself inwardly. The words had just fallen so naturally from his mouth, like a reflex. He'd told her that he loved her just like that! No romance. No thought or consideration about choosing just the right moment. It was out there. The words were hanging in the air between them like a fluttering golden snitch.

It was Hermione who broke the silence first.

"Draco. Did… did you just…?" she trailed off, her voice laden with disbelief.

'_Shit_,' Draco thought. It was too much, too soon. Draco scrunched up his eyes in a grimace before letting out a loud sigh. He turned slowly and allowed his eyes to meet hers with a tentative gaze.

"Yes. I did." he admitted openly. "And actually, I know it might seem a little soon for you but I'm not sorry for saying it. And I'm not expecting you to…"

He was cut off abruptly as Hermione launched herself at him, jumping up and wrapping her legs around him as she crashed her lips against his. Then she pulled away, holding his face closely to hers.

"Draco, I love you too."

They kissed again with a searing passion that Draco had never felt before, as her hands found his hair and his grasped her bum, pressing to one another needily.

Pulling back Draco whispered: "Bedroom Granger," as he kissed and nuzzled her neck.

"Hmmm, yes…" she replied, tossing her head back and losing herself to the sensation. He gave a low chuckle as he realised she had missed his meaning.

"_Where_, Granger?" he asked more pointedly.

She paused momentarily, before realising that Draco had never been to her room.

"Oh! Right!" she said quickly, before planting another kiss on his lips and apparating them both away upstairs with a rather rough and bouncy landing, directly onto her double bed.

Draco pounced onto her the moment they got their bearings, kissing down the slender column of her neck as he unbuttoned her flowery blouse.

"Draco, don't you have things to do?" she asked breathlessly.

"Oh believe me," he whispered in her ear. "I _definitely _have things to do."


	20. Chapter 20

**~twenty~**

Draco sat awkwardly reclining on Hermione's sofa at Strawberry Fields, waiting for her to finish getting ready. It was the night of the annual Ministry's Wizarding Excellence Awards, and Draco was going along as Hermione's guest. She and her colleagues had been nominated for the Team Impact Award and she was busy putting the finishing touches to her hair and makeup.

Draco was watching her small television set, grimacing at the shouty muggles on the screen in the grim London-based drama he had stumbled upon. He was wearing best wizarding dress robes, and was feeling far from comfortable in the high collar and knotted cravat ensemble.

He had developed a real dislike for the formal garbs he had been trotted about in in his youth, but wanted to make the effort for Hermione's special night. They had been facing a lot of press attention in the four months since Harry and Ginny's wedding which didn't really show any signs of abating.

The press had as veracious an appetite for their relationship as they had done that day at The Burrow. They picked and analysed at every seemingly insignificant detail they could speculate about, so Draco had felt that towing the line with the dress code of the evening was the best choice to make all round.

He sighed with discomfort as he fingered his collar, cursing at the strangling sensation under his breath.

"Well don't you look handsome!" came Hermione's voice from behind him at the bottom of the narrow staircase.

Whirling around, Draco caught his first sight of Hermione's outfit for the night. She was wearing a white, floor length silk dress, with a tantalisingly long slit up the side all the way to the top of her thigh and a pair of dangerously high, white stilettoes. The bodice fitted against her torso perfectly, showcasing the smooth, creamy skin of her shoulders and back. Her hair was tucked up into an elegant chignon and the shock of red lipstick she had chosen made Draco experience a very familiar throb of mild arousal.

He immediately knew that having to wear his dress robes was worth every second of discomfort if it meant he got to spend the night with Hermione looking as she did, and given that he would be able to look forward to peeling the dress off her perfect body later in the evening.

Draco suddenly realised that he must have been ogling her quite lecherously and so swiftly turned off the TV and walked over to her to place a chaste kiss on her temple.

"You're breath-taking," he whispered into her ear, earning a shiver and a small giggle as she shimmied past him to fetch her wand, stowing it carefully away in her magically extended clutch bag.

"Whereas I, on the other hand," he continued, fiddling with his tie and doing a little jiggle to straighten out his trousers, "…feel like a trussed up turkey."

"Well I think you look lovely," Hermione retorted, checking her hair in the mirror that hung over a small sideboard nearby.

"Hmph," came Draco's disgruntled reply.

"These trousers are not getting on with my underwear," he added with a grimace as he wriggled slightly to adjust himself. "Beginning to wish I'd gone commando."

Hermione laughed down her nose at his adoption of yet another muggle turn of phrase, as she made her way over to him. She linked his arm to prepare for their apparation to the Ministry reception point and leaned in towards him with a smirk, looking him directly in the eyes.

"Lucky for me I already thought of it," she admitted, flashing her eyebrows triumphantly as the dawn of realisation washed over Draco's face.

She apparated them away with a giggle as Draco groaned with half pleasure, half dismay. As they arrived he was still coming to terms with the fact that he would be spending a formal evening surrounded by ministry dignitaries, in a constant state of arousal from the fact that Hermione's pussy lay at arm's length and in a state of precariously open accessibility.

Having had their invitations verified at the floo reception area, Draco and Hermione made their way towards the Ministry's atrium that led them towards the Grand Hall. There were several other guests and attendees already there and they recognised the familiar cacophony of the wizarding press as they made their way to the purple carpet that led them on their way.

They glanced at each other with a knowing look in full anticipation of what was to come. The press, both British and international who were all housed behind a long barrier at the side of the carpet went berserk as soon as they clapped eyes on the pair.

Hermione sighed resignedly as they walked forwards and paused every now and then to oblige the press with some photo opportunities. Further along the way were journalists, poised with quick quotes quills and voice recording charms, to interview the wizarding world's celebrities.

"Oh look!" Hermione called out, nodding her head in the direction of a group of people in front of them. "There's Mary and the others."

Up ahead, Mary Cattermole and a group of Hermione's other colleagues were being photographed and interviewed by what looked like someone from the American wizarding press. They made their way forwards and Draco let Hermione break off ahead to join her team. He hung back out of the way, watching her intently as she mingled joyfully and engaged confidently in a brief interview, speaking passionately about the work her department had done and all they had achieved in improving muggle, half-blood and wizarding relations.

Draco smiled at her open passion and vigour, but was suddenly shaken from his admiration by a chillingly familiar voice over his shoulder.

"Well look who it is."

Draco rolled his eyes as he turned slowly to inevitably meet the sneer of Justin Finch Fletchley.

Draco's grey eyes glazed over with a hardened expression. He hadn't heard anything of Justin since he got excluded from his healer training, and neither had he wanted to.

"Flinchley." Draco said in a terse greeting.

"Malfoy. I must say, it's certainly charitable of Hermione to bring you along."

Draco tensed at Justin daring to mention Hermione's name so casually after the way he had treated her, even though it had turned out she hadn't actually much cared for him in the end. He stamped down the bubbling anger that was growing within and, taking a deep breath, gained a strong sense of control.

"It must be nice for you to be able to use her good name for the promotion of your own business. I hear you're quite the little retail leader, Malfoy. How very _noble_." Justin scoffed with derision.

"Whereas, others of us are making and real difference in the world, and being recognised for it here, tonight," he bragged, running his fingers through his thick dark hair that was slicked back from his wide forehead.

At that moment, the press noticed the interaction between the pair and began to shout over to them.

"_Mr Malfoy! Mr Finch Fletchley! Over here please!"_

Justin plastered a broad fake grin across his smug face as he turned to the cameras, placing an arm around Draco in a false imitation of comradery.

"_Mr Finch Fletchley! Are you and Mr Malfoy well acquainted?"_ came the prying questions of the nearby journalists.

"Oh well, of course, yes!" Justin replied swiftly, before Draco had a chance, eager to make the impression of being the forgiving muggle-born, taking pity on the former death eater.

"We finished eighth year at Hogwarts together."

Draco had long been astonished that the revelation of his expulsion from the healership training had gone largely uninvestigated by the press. There had been a brief report about him quitting the course to pursue his business venture when Vinyl Resting Place had first opened, which had again been echoed in the furore over his relationship with Hermione, but the actual circumstances had never come to light.

"Yes, that's right!" Draco added, also throwing his arm around Justin and clapping him hard on the back. "And then, by sheer chance we ended up as flatmates at St Mungo's. Didn't we Justin? That was, until I was required to leave, of course"

Draco smirked as he felt Justin tense up and noted him swallow thickly.

"_Mr Malfoy! Mr Malfoy! Just how was it that you came to leave St Mungo's?"_

Draco smiled brightly and casually announced: "I was excluded for bad behaviour."

The press got louder in their frantic mission to get the scoop on this new scandalous titbit of information that Draco was dangling in front of them.

"_Why were you expelled Mr Malfoy? What was the reason?"_

Draco turned to look at Justin who was staring ahead with wild panic and a manic smile.

"I deliberately hexed old Finchley here, didn't I mate?" he announced, patting Justin's shoulder jovially.

"_Mr Finch Fletchley! Mr Finch Fletchley! Were you injured? What was the spell, Mr Malfoy?"_

This time it was Draco's turn to beat Justin to an answer.

"It was a little known hex by the name of 'Mentula Vermis' or the 'worm dick hex' if you will."

He continued with a laugh, "But the funny thing is, it turns out that the hex has particularly powerful effects on those with, shall we say, a pre-existing condition of endowment - or lack thereof, something that had not been discovered until I administered it to old Finchley here!"

Justin was gulping and turning ashen as Draco continued his tale.

"So yes, I got excluded. But I guess that in doing so, I still managed to bring new medical information to light, thus leaving my mark on both the world of healership knowledge AND Justin's shamefully small manhood."

"In fact," Draco added, adding his own embellishment to the story for his own gratification, "I've heard a rumour that in medical circles, they've nicknamed it 'The Finch-Fletchley Effect'. So I guess I can't take all the credit, eh Justin?"

The press remained silent for a moment as they processed all that had been so freely divulged to them. In an instant the peace was shattered as they went wild with desire to hear more and the sound of camera shutters and flashing bulbs filled the atrium.

Draco leaned in to Justin and muttered "Enjoy your evening!" before heading back over to Hermione who was now standing with her friends and looking over with confusion at the noise and commotion.

"What was all that about?" she whispered as he offered her his arm for her to link as they went to make their way towards the large doorways of the Grand Hall.

"Oh, just reminiscing with my old flatmate." he replied with a broad smile.

Hermione craned her neck to see a red-faced Justin marching hurriedly away from the press, as they turned the corner and entered the majestic venue of the Grand Hall for their evening ahead.


	21. Chapter 21

**~twenty-one~**

Showing their invitations to the usher, Hermione let out a short gasp as she took in the grandeur of the hall. Draco, immediately filled with concern, shot a worried glance her way, which quickly melted into amusement as he watched her. She was gazing skyward at the enchanted ceiling of twinkling stars and then all around at the elegantly set out round tables. The hall was immense with enough tables set out to serve at least five hundred special guests, with further seating in the grand balconies that looked down over the hall floor and the stage.

"It's beautiful!" she whispered. "It's like Hogwarts isn't it?"

Draco continued to take in her rapture with a gentle smile.

"Yes. Beautiful indeed."

He walked forwards, linking her arm and guiding them over to the table where Hermione's colleagues were seated, and was pleased to note how warmly welcome he was made to feel.

The evening began with an introductory address from the master of ceremonies; Klaus Bagman. The stage was being captured and magically projected all around the Grand Hall, making the proceedings easy to see and hear no matter where in the audience you were seated. There was also a small selection of press located in a small wing off to the side, where the worthy winners were to be escorted to after each announcement, for photographs and a brief interview.

Bagman himself had a witty and comedic charm and Draco found himself enjoying the evening a great deal as it progressed, settling down with a bottle of sparkling elf wine that he helped himself to from a passing tray. Hermione spotted it and seemed oddly concerned.

"Go easy on that stuff, Draco!" she warned with a whisper, taking the bottle from him as soon as he had finished filling their glasses.

"Alright boss! Just trying to enjoy myself!" he replied with a bemused smirk at her concern.

Hermione caught his eye for a second and Draco could have sworn that he saw a glimmer of something covert in her expression as she deliberately placed the bottle out of arm's reach, before turning her attention back to the stage.

He considered this for a moment before shaking his head with a sigh. She had been really nervous about this awards gala for several weeks. It was clear that she was keen for her team to win and he could see why. They had been working tirelessly and had made real positive steps in rebuilding a harmonious wizarding Britain since the war.

Soon enough, the presentations began and Bagman repeatedly introduced many significant wizarding dignitaries to the stage to make the various presentations. Hermione needn't have been worried. Of course she and her colleagues won the Team Impact Award and he couldn't help but feel smug as she turned to hug him as soon as her department was called out to the stage to receive their award.

Hermione gave a short speech of thanks that was greeted with rapturous applause from all who clearly delighted in being in the presence of the Golden Girl. Draco felt his chest swell with pride. She was _his_ Golden Girl after all.

The presentations continued and Hermione and her colleagues returned to their tables, merry and buoyant at their victory. And yet, Draco was sure that he could still detect a hint of nervousness in the witch at his side.

"Are you okay?" he asked tentatively, taking her hand and delicately stroking his thumb across her knuckles. "You seem to be quite on edge still. You won! Why don't you relax and have a drink, Granger?"

Hermione smiled and shook her head dismissively.

"I'm fine Draco, I'm fine. I want to retain a sober head," she insisted, reaching out and moving her glass away from Draco's reach. "I don't like being tipsy around my work colleagues," she whispered. Draco relented with a mild feeling of disappointment. He had a secret enjoyment of drunken Hermione and her unbridled antics. It always reminded him of Potter's wedding and their first night spent together.

More presentations followed, including the St Mungo's Award for Scholarly Excellence. This was the category in which it turned out Justin was nominated having gone on to earn very high grades in his healership examinations.

The award was being presented by Poppy Pomfrey who was welcomed to the stage with a standing ovation from the whole audience. She had been awarded the Order of Merlin the previous year in recognition of her actions both during and following the Battle of Hogwarts which had saved the lives of many witches and wizards of both sides of the war.

As she read aloud the winner with the inevitable pause as the envelope was opened, Draco couldn't help but whisper "_Not Flinchley, not Flinchley_" to himself as Hermione sat completely unmoved at his side. Of course it _was_ Justin's name that was read aloud. He was unfortunately sat at a table a little further behind theirs, meaning that he would inevitably have to walk past them on his way to the stage to receive his award.

The magical projections lit up all around showing Justin standing and shaking hands with his companions, his large chin jutting out smugly as he made his way forwards. As he passed their table, Justin deliberately caught Draco's eye with a smug grin before having the audacity to lean into Hermione.

"Give me a call if you're having second thoughts, Granger. No hard feelings, huh?"

Hermione's friends looked at them with bemused expressions as Draco seethed angrily, his rage crackling at his fingertips. Justin returned to his journey to the stage and Draco soon felt Hermione's soothing touch as her hand came gently to rest on his thigh. He snatched up his glass and took a mollifying mouthful, relishing her caress and the calming smile that she gave him, finding that it instantly extinguished his burning anger. She leaned in to whisper conspiratorially in his ear.

"Merlin, has his chin always been that large?" she hissed as she nodded towards the nearby projection of Justin's large and sweaty head. "Pity for him it's actually larger than his dick."

Draco nearly snorted wine down his nose at Hermione's blatant disregard for the slimy cretin. Merlin, how he loved this witch. He showed it by planting a long kiss on her shoulder as she turned with a triumphant expression to watch Justin receive his trophy and to listen to his inane and clichéd acceptance speech.

A few more awards followed and Draco berated himself for his lack of control earlier. Hermione still seemed a little on edge and he was worried that his angry state would have been far from helpful in getting her to relax. She even seemed fraught when he went to leave the table to use the gents, insisting that he return swiftly.

"Granger, what on earth has got into you tonight?" he asked tentatively as he stroked a wayward curl away from her face. "Is it the press? We can leave if you…"

"No! No," she interrupted with a smile.

"I'm fine, honestly. I don't want to leave. I think you're right. It must be the press making me a little nervy, but they'll be gone soon. No press are allowed at the after party. So I'll be fine and we can really enjoy ourselves then can't we?"

Draco looked deeply into her eyes. He could tell that she really didn't want to leave so soon but couldn't help but feel concern.

"Alright," he relented, standing to make his way to the loos. "I'll be back shortly."

He took her hand and gave it a chaste kiss before heading off, making sure to return as quickly as he could. When he returned, Hermione was scouring the programme. Looking over her shoulder, Draco was relieved to see that only one more presentation remained.

"See?" she remarked as she looked up to him with a faint smile. "It'll soon be all over," she said quietly with a deep breath, turning to face the stage intently. Klaus Bagman had just proceeded to introduce the presenter of the final award of the evening to the stage.

Draco blinked in disbelief and confusion as the very familiar figure of Neville Longbottom walked awkwardly across the stage to the lectern.

"What the...?" he stated in confusion, glancing at Hermione who shrugged non committedly.

Since Harry and Ginny's wedding, Draco had struck up a most surprising friendship with Neville. The pair had bumped into each other in Diagon one afternoon and had ended up spending an enjoyable evening together at the pub. This had become something of a regularity since then, and Neville had even started to join Draco, Theo and Blaise on their nights out as well.

"He never mentioned he was doing this," Draco remarked, taking another sip of wine as he contemplated the surprising turn of events.

"I think this award is always a closely guarded secret, so he wouldn't have been permitted," Mary Cattermole explained from across the table, having caught Draco's reaction.

"Ah. Makes sense I suppose."

"Ladies and gentlemen," Neville began, bending down slightly towards the magical voice amplifier that was located on the lectern.

"God he looks nervous!" Draco remarked with a chuckle of glee, taking another sip of his wine.

Hemrione chastised him with a "Shhh!" and a gentle slap on his leg. Draco continued to chuckle as Neville continued.

"It is with great pleasure that I have been asked to present the final award of the evening; The Special Recognition Award. You see, this award is being presented to an individual for reasons extremely close to my own heart." Neville continued. He visibly swallowed thickly and took a deep breath.

Something about Neville's demeanour suddenly piqued Draco's interest more intently and he leaned forwards with intense focus, resting his elbows on the table and steepling his fingertips together.

"I'd like to introduce you to Frank and Alice Longbottom; my parents," Neville went on. The projections around the Grand Hall slowly revealed a photograph of Neville's parents as they sat in their hospital beds in the Janus Thickey ward, where they had been housed for nearly two decades. Hermione recognised the child-like smiles that they bore which she had witnessed first-hand during that Christmas visit to see Mr Weasley all those years ago.

"They were unfortunately the victims of a most heinous cruciatus curse during the second wizarding war, which sadly resulted in them being left in a state of permanent insanity. I was only sixteen months old at the time. Since that day, they have been unable to remember me or anything about their former lives. That is, until recently…"

The projections then shimmered and changed to an image of them sitting with Neville and enjoying looking through what appeared to be a photo album, pointing out family pictures while Neville smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

Draco felt an almost imperceptible squeeze of Hermione's hand on his leg and glanced sideways at her, but she had turned her face quite fully away to face the stage.

"You see, three months ago, a newly developed potion was released for general use and application in the field of memory restoration. Ladies and gentlemen, please turn your attention towards the projectors to find out more about the incredible recipient of tonight's special award," Neville announced.

Draco's heart was pounding so hard that he thought it might burst forth from his chest as he dared to surmise where this was heading. He turned again to look at Hermione who was now clutching his hand tightly, her eyes glistening with emotion as she tried desperately to avert his intense stare.

"Is this what I think it is…?" he whispered, looking round the table at her colleagues who were all displaying wide grins of amusement.

Hermione took a deep breath and nibbled her lip nervously as she finally met his gaze. She smiled apologetically and whispered: "Please don't be mad!"

He shook his head in disbelief as the lights dimmed slightly and a magically pre-recorded projection came slowly into focus.

"Oh no…" Draco groaned quietly as Harry Potter's face came into view.

"So is this one of those message reels where we all have to say nice things about him?" Harry appeared to be asking someone behind the camera. He then huffed dramatically before relenting with a sassy tut. "Oh go on then!"

The audience laughed at Harry's sarcasm, but Draco continued to glare at the screen in shock.

The recording then cut, to Draco's surprise, to Professor McGonagall who was sitting in the head's office at Hogwarts. The audience broke out into rapturous applause, cutting off her opening sentence.

"… as many will know has had a precarious history with our school, and let me add, I was myself unsure about his admittance at eighth year. But…" she continued with a warm smile, "he gladly proved my doubts wrong on every level. We had ourselves an exceptionally gifted and determined young student and, in the end, I was in fact fiercely proud of all he overcame to secure a set of most outstanding grades. It became rapidly clear to me that this was a young man that was determined to make a new name for himself. I feel he totally deserves the accolade put forwards for him tonight, given what that he has achieved in the face of adversity."

The film then cut again back to Harry who was dramatically stroking his chin in a faux show of difficulty in trying to come up with some kind words to say.

"So… nice things to say about Draco sodding Malfoy?" Harry appeared to ask himself questioningly. At this the audience notably stilled and there was a frisson of realisation and whispering around the hall.

"Well, Draco and I have a bit of _history_ as you know. He was an utter git at school and yes, yes we all know about all the other stuff…" Harry continued. Draco noted that Harry was wearing his auror uniform in the recording, giving added authority and veritas to his words.

"The thing that irks me the most these days, is how much he's totally proved me wrong. He's turned out to be not only an exceptional wizard, but also a really decent human being. And that really gets on my nerves."

The audience chuckled with delight and Draco stared around the room once more, struggling to come to terms with what was unfolding before him.

The recording then cut to the Dean Sinclair, who it appeared had been interviewed in his study at St Mungo's.

"It was clear that Draco was a really gifted apprentice healer in the short time that we had him," the Dean explained matter of factly. "This is a wizard of many, many talents. His unfortunate departure from our program was indeed regrettable. However, it has led to other quite _desirable_ outcomes…" the Dean added, reaching forwards and holding up to everyone's surprise, a vinyl record. Draco's mouth fell open in shock as he noted the Black Sabbath album that the Dean must have purchased from Vinyl Resting Place.

The projection then changed, to Draco's complete horror, to a recording of his mother. The audience stilled again in instant recognition of the famous Malfoy matriarch.

"Draco may not thank me for saying this, but he is gentle. And he has a huge capacity for love. It was always there really. And now? Yes, now it is clear for all the world to see."

The screen then returned to a shot of Dean Sinclair who was now reclining back in his chair, hands behind his head, feet up on the desk and nodding his head enthusiastically along to the sound of Ozzy Osbourne's lyrics.

The audience broke out into genuine warm laughter that rippled out across the hall as the screen then changed again to the less well recognised figure of Altrixa McConnell from the European Journal of Magi-Medical Research. Her name and title shimmered magically at the bottom of the projection.

"Mr Malfoy's dedicated research into the development of this groundbreaking potion was absolutely second to none. What this young wizard has achieved in the field of mind healing should be a great cause for celebration around the wizarding world. The public, however, will of course be unaware of his achievement, as Mr Malfoy himself was keen to maintain a more distanced association with the potion, for the most noble of reasons."

The screen then showed, much to Draco's surprise, Hermione's parents, sitting side by side and lovingly holding a framed photograph of their daughter. Draco gaped openly at the sight before him and turned his head sharply to her. She smiled apologetically once more.

"Your parents?" he asked with disbelief.

Hermione could only nod in response.

"Thanks to Draco's selfless and determined pursuit of his study into memory restoration, we were able to regain the memories of our daughter and our family life," Mrs Granger explained. Our daughter ensured our safety by putting our lives before hers, and Draco has ensured our shared happiness by bringing us back together."

"The fact that he stands to gain absolutely nothing from his potion is surely a testament to this man's true character," her father went on to add. "He has handed over the complete rights to the potion to St Mungo's for the continued benefit of its patients, in particular the victims of the war."

There was a hush around the hall as this information was taken in by the crowds. Hermione was wiping a tear away from her eye as the projection changed once more to Harry.

"Oh bloody hell!" Draco groaned at the Boy Who Lived's third appearance.

"And… did I mention he's been dating my best friend? Who is like a _sister_ to me? So, I'm required by law to hate the guy for that reason alone… but, you know what? I just _can't_! I mean, I've got a bit of first-hand knowledge about dating sisters to know that it is generally a big no-no. But, he bloody well loves the girl! And to be quite honest - I can't blame her for loving him back!"

"Curse you Malfoy!" Harry added, shaking his fist dramatically towards the camera with a smirk. "I'm sure I'll find some reason to hate you again someday. But, in the meantime… I suppose… congratulations are in order?" Harry finished before looking back again at the person behind the camera out of shot. "Is that ok?" he asked as the lights came back on and the projectors dimmed, attention turning back to the stage.

Neville was now standing proudly holding the magically glittering trophy with a wide smile adorning his face as the audience clapped and he began to build the announcement up to its inevitable climax.

"My parents, although still in a very vulnerable state of mind and fragility, have under the administration of Draco's potion, started to recall aspects of their previous life_. _We were always assured that this was an outright impossibility before.Many of you will have heard of this miracle cure. It goes by the simple name of Claritas and it is to its genius creator that we present our special recognition award this evening.

Many of you will have held doubts about this man as his name became clear to you this evening but the facts stack up and speak for themselves. He didn't want the fame or glory that is rightfully his, but I'm afraid mate," Neville added searching out Draco's silvery eyes in the audience and now addressing him directly, "we've all decided that is just unacceptable. Ladies and gentlemen, the Special Recognition Award this year is presented to my very, very good friend, Mr Draco Malfoy…"

And with that the audience rose to its feet in rapturous applause. Draco remained fixed to his chair, gaping in shock at Hermione who was hugging and kissing him and then whispering something urgently in his ear.

"_You deserve this and I love you so much! Now please - get up! Go!"_

He slowly got up to his feet, holding Hermione's hand and placing another chaste kiss on her knuckles, before buttoning his jacket and smoothing out the creases in his trousers. He began making his way in what felt like slow-motion towards the stage while the audience continued to clap and cheer.

He made his way to alight the steps, making eye contact with Neville who was grinning broadly and holding out the trophy towards him. Draco shook his head and scowled at his friend for his deceitfulness. Neville ignored him and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Sorry mate. It had to be done!" he laughed, before thrusting the trophy into his hand. Neville then stepped away, allowing Draco to take to the lectern under the bright light and intense focus of the audience whose clapping was beginning to abate in anticipation of a speech.

Draco looked around the hall and a slight movement slightly further back drew his attention. He could just make out the figure of Justin as he skulked angrily away towards the exit. The sight buoyed him with confidence and he drew in a deep breath to consider what he might be able to say in thanks for this most unexpected award.

"Thank you ladies, gentlemen and ministers. Thank you. I have to say that this comes as a complete shock," he began, turning the trophy in his hands to make certain that it was in fact _his_ name that was engraved there.

"The fact that the Ministry has seen fit to approve the presentation of this award to me, given … given my past, I think is a true testament to how far we have moved forwards as a whole society since the war.

I can't begin to tell you all how truly grateful I am for this recognition. Although it is true - I didn't want any profit or acknowledgement for Claritas. I wanted the potion to help others and that was it. It would have been enough reward for me to know that its healing effects were having such an impact on so many lives. I had no idea Neville…." he trailed off looking towards his friend, seemingly unable to find the words to explain how he felt about the news of Neville's parents.

"So…" he said, changing the subject slightly to avoid becoming too overwhelmed. "I have many, many people to thank for their support, particularly in recent years, whether it be in my academic studies or even my more recent business ventures. I mean - huge thanks to Dean Sinclair for both his custom and endorsement there!" Draco added with a short laugh and gesture towards the projectors, earning a ripple of laughter from the crowds once more as they recalled the odd sight of the ancient Dean enjoying the muggle rock music.

"However, please allow me to indulge in expressing my most heartfelt thanks to one person in particular. Without this person, I would never have even conceived of the idea of pursuing memory restoration. The knowledge of her selfless and brave actions during the war set me on a course of determination to ease the suffering of those victims of memory loss which we all know, has affected so many as a result of the war. And it's true that I also wanted to try in some ways to make amends for my past."

Draco searched the audience to lock eyes with Hermione as the words came pouring out as thought from his very heart.

"Hermione, I thank _you_ the most for everything that you have given me. For giving me a chance of a new life by speaking in my defence in the trials. For giving me hope in our eighth year at Hogwarts by being one of the few people willing to offer me friendship. For giving forgiveness by working with my mother in her charity work. For supporting me in my unconventional business venture and, most of all, Hermione, for loving me unconditionally, in spite of everything that is stacked against us. Hermione Granger, I love you with all my heart, and this award is for you. Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen."

And with that, Draco and Neville made their way off the stage to the lasting applause given by the crowds, as Klaus Bagman returned to the stage to bring the proceedings to a close.


	22. Chapter 22

_A/N Thank you readers for your lovely support, especially those who stuck with me from the beginning and endured my painful update schedule (or lack thereof) and for taking time to review. Means the world! __Final chapter..._

**~twenty-two~**

Draco was ushered swiftly into the press wing where he was photographed and interviewed in a blur of flashbulbs and a cacophony of noise. The whole affair swept by in a daze and he was relieved to be released in his desperation to return to Hermione's side.

As he made his way along to the table he found himself stopped every few paces by people genuinely interested in offering him their congratulations and wanting to shake his hand. Many of the guests were keen to share with him their own stories of family members who would be able to benefit from his potion, while others were interested in his business ventures.

It took Draco what felt like a dragon's age to finally return to Hermione's side, where she sat looking sheepishly at him as he approached. He stalked over to her and scooped her up into his arms, kissing her passionately.

"You, sneaky little witch" he muttered as he pressed her to his chest and buried his face into her neck.

She left out a soft laugh before whispering "Am I forgiven then?"

He drew back and shook his head with a smile. "Well yes I suppose. But that doesn't mean that you've got away with it. I expect some serious making up from you later."

She nodded her head with a smile. "Oh I think I can think of something that might put a smile on your face!"

The couple settled back down into their places as the evening's banquet was served and the entertainment began. Draco and Hermione found themselves joined by Neville and Luna, and spent the night being approached by many other guests throughout the evening, as they made their way over to offer their congratulations to them both. They became acquainted with many new faces and found themselves enjoying themselves enormously as the evening wore on.

After the sumptuous banquet had been cleared, the night finished with some music and dancing as a band made its way onto the stage. Draco pulled Hermione into his arms on the dancefloor and held her in a close embrace as he mused over the evening's events.

"You know, I spotted Flinchley storming out when I was up on stage earlier," he said.

"Really?" Hermione asked as she rested her chin on his shoulder. "I suppose I'm not too surprised, though. He was always quite self-centred."

"It's quite possible that seeing the smile wiped off his face tonight was more enjoyable than actually receiving the award itself!" Draco mused with a smirk.

Hermione let out a short laugh. "Well, the faces you were pulling didn't seem to suggest that you were enjoying yourself too much earlier. Especially when Harry was on the screen."

Draco grimaced slightly "Bloody 'Boy Wonder' had to get in on the action didn't he? But then again, I now have it on record that he thinks that I'm an _exceptional_ wizard."

Hermione rolled her eyes playfully. "And not to mention that he thinks you're a _decent human being_."

"Yes, and that," Draco agreed. "He also suggested quite strongly that he thinks I'm lovable too. He's going to regret that for a long time."

Hermione sighed and snuggled into his chest. "For a _long_ time, Draco?"

"Absolutely."

The couple continued in their slow dance as the twinkling stars of the enchanted ceiling shimmered above them.

"Draco?" Hermione asked after a while.

"Hmmm?"

"I've been thinking…"

"Shocking," Draco retorted with sarcasm. "Watch out Granger. Next you'll be telling me you've been doing something extreme like reading books as well."

She slapped him playfully before continuing.

"You've been staying over with me at Strawberry Fields practically every night since Harry and Ginny's wedding. I really think you should just move in. Don't you?"

Draco paused momentarily before a wide smile crept across his face.

"I'd love to Granger. If you're sure?"

Draco had indeed been practically living with Hermione. He really appreciated her home's discrete location and the sheer lack of grandeur about the little cottage. He flooed or apparated daily to and from Vinyl Resting Place without problem, and Hermione often went with him at weekends, enjoying spending time in Hogsmeade and taking a walk up to Hogwarts.

"I'm absolutely sure. In fact, I think that it is completely necessary."

"Is that right? Draco mused. "Well I shall of course seek to meet your needs if they are felt necessary."

She smiled and glanced down with a blush.

"Actually Draco, you can help me with a little decorating if you like?"

He withdrew slightly with a puzzled expression. "Decorating? What? You're not going to let me paint the bedroom a lovely Slytherin green are you?"

"No. Not Slytherin green…"

"Or, how about some framed album artwork? I've seen some great ones up at a little muggle shop…"

"No, no… not really what I had in mind either…" she interjected. "But…" she continued tentatively, reaching up to take his face in her hands and looking intently into his eyes.

"… the little box room needs a new lick of paint. And… I've got two colours in mind, Draco."

Draco's feet came to a halt at the sudden change in Hermione's demeanour. She looked more radiant than ever before and her expression caused his heart to skip a beat. He gazed intently into her eyes urging her to go on.

"It's definitely going to be either pastel blue or pastel pink. But it's going to be several months before I'll definitely know which colour it needs to be."

Draco stared into her eyes with disbelief as his mind processed what she seemed to be suggesting.

"You… you mean..?"

"Yes," she whispered. "I took a test yesterday. And I'm really happy Draco. I really am. Are you?"

Draco shook his head, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open slightly. Hermione visibly deflated at his reaction.

"Oh, I…"

"No. No! Not _happy_ Granger. Happy doesn't even come _close_ to how I feel right now. I'm ecstatic, Hermione. I… I'm going to be a father? And you …" he looked down at her slender tummy in disbelief before scooping her up into his arms and kissing her with a passionate embrace.

He withdrew and swept her hair back from her face with both hands, looking deeply into her eyes.

"How on earth did I manage to get so lucky?" he asked with a smile.

They kissed again, a long, gentle and tender kiss as the band struck up the familiar opening to 'Here Comes The Sun', which Draco had discretely requested earlier. They locked eyes with a short laugh at the sound of their song and Draco proceeded to dance again with his beautiful witch in his arms, filled with hope and happiness as his life began to unfold another new chapter before him.


End file.
